


No Broken Hearts in the Club

by Tunfisken



Series: Ain't nobody going home (no tears in the club) [1]
Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Grian is a flirt, Grian wants to smooch everyone, Lapdance, M/M, Most hermits make an appearance, Polyhermits - Freeform, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:54:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23820412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tunfisken/pseuds/Tunfisken
Summary: Grian loved dancing, and the attention it brought his way. When he got the opportunity to get paid for his talents, well, why wouldn't he take it?The token poly stripclub fic no one asked for, yet I'm here to provide. Grian will kiss everyone, that is a threat and a promise. Nothing explicit, suggestive themes only.
Relationships: Charles | Grian/Steffen Mossner | Docm77, Grian/Everyone, Grian/ImpulseSV, polyhermits
Series: Ain't nobody going home (no tears in the club) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726090
Comments: 197
Kudos: 395





	1. Don't be scared, I ain't afraid

~ * ~

Grian was standing outside of the club, nervously shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He really was going to do this, huh?

Clubs such as the one he was standing in front of were usually dark and silent at this time of day. The sun was still high in the sky, but Grian wasn’t there to attend one of the shows, oh no. He was going to a job interview. His friend Mumbo was working as a bartender at _The Hermit_ , and he spoke really warmly of both the staff and the owner. And Grian, well, he needed the money. That, and he loved dancing and the attention it brought his way, so he figured, hey, why not, right?

His pondering was abruptly cut off by the sound of the metal door of the back of the club creaking open before him, and Grian blinked as he was suddenly face to face with a toned chest clad in a dark dress shirt, and his head snapped upwards to see the man’s face.

Surprisingly kind eyes looked back at him, and Grian felt his shoulders untense. An easygoing smile grazed his lips, and the man returned it easily.

The man said, “You must be Grian, right?” At Grian’s nodded affirmation, the man continued.

“Wonderful! I am Xisuma, the owner of _The Hermit._ Come on in, we can talk in my office.”

“Lead the way,” Grian answered, and the two stepped inside the silent club. The walk to Xisumas office was spent in a comfortable silence, which gave Grian the opportunity to look around as they walked. The club was surprisingly clean and well lit, though he maybe should not have been expecting anything else – Mumbo worked there after all, and Grian doubted the ridiculously proper man would have spoken as warmly of _The Hermit_ as he had if the place was a shithole.

Once they arrived at the office, Xisuma gestured him towards a chair before taking a seat himself behind a dark desk, crossing his arms over the polished top.

“So, Grian. Why do you want to work at _The Hermit_? As you know, Mumbo has put in a good word for you, but I’d like to hear it directly from you as well.”

Grian barely had to think about the answer, quickly blurting out, “I like showing off.”

The silence that filled the room was awkward. Xisuma blinked at him, and Grian flushed a bit before explaining.

“I- by that I mean that I really enjoy dancing for people. I’m good at it, and I love the attention I get.”

Seeing Xisuma quirk a small smile at that, emboldened, Grian continued with a small grin and half joke of his own.

“I also really need the money.”

This pulled a genuine laugh out of the club owner. “Well then, mister Grian, I think you’ve come to the right place. I say we get you started right away, and at the end of the week we can see how you’re adapting and fitting in with the rest of the staff and the other dancers, how about that?”

Grian let out a small breath and gave another wide smile, shoving out his hand to meet Xisuma’s in the middle.

“It’s a deal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Like that - Doja Cat


	2. If you come over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian is getting a tour, meets someone knew, and prepares to start learning a routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slow chapter. The fun begins in the next one!

~ * ~

After returning home to eat and pick up a change of clothes, he was being showed around the front of _The Hermit_ by Xisuma, getting the general information about security and the different rules of the club meant to protect the dancers ( _“There will be absolutely no touching from any of the patrons here, and if you ever experience anything of the sort you will report to me, one of the bouncers, or any other staff immediately. That sort of behavior is not accepted here, we want a healthy and respectful working environment for our dancers.”_ ), and Grian was left more than impressed. The sheer professionalism and cleanliness of the place, the amount of steps taken to protect the dancers from creeps and drunks, well, it seemed almost too good to be true. _Bless Mumbo for tipping him off about this_ _place_ , he thought with a smile.

“And now,” Xisuma said, bringing Grian out of his thoughts. “It’s time to head into the back of the club. It’s here you’ll be spending most of your working hours, honestly. Here we have the backstage of course, but also the exercise rooms for practicing routines, a break room, bathrooms and showers, as well as a space to change outfits and apply makeup, if you’d so wish.”

Grian was practically bouncing in excitement upon hearing about it all, imagination already running wild with ideas for routines, outfits, song choices and what kinds of makeup and heels would go together. He had a wide smile on his face as the two walked into the next room, and the sight that met them there only made his grin go wider.

They had arrived in what seemed to be the exercise area, because there were people stretching, others were talking while sitting on mats on the floor, drinking water and seemingly taking a break, but the group Grian immediately found his eyes drawn to were the ones that were currently twirling and spinning around the poles located in the back. Only half mindedly paying attention to Xisuma who was still talking, Grian unconsciously started making his way over to them.

Xisuma gave a huff that sounded kind of like a laugh, and followed the smaller man, still in good spirits. “I see you’ve noticed the poles, yes? Mumbo tells me you have some experience with them.”

Still watching the men that were gracefully displaying their strength and flexibility up in the air, Grian answered absentmindedly. “Yeah, nothing too crazy though. I mostly dabbled in the sport-branch of it, never the exotic dance-parts, or anything like that. I’m excited to start learning, if that counts for anything.”

Xisuma beamed at the other man. “That counts for plenty! From what I’ve heard, you more than have the basics down, so feel free to warm up and get to know the other guys in here while I go and work in the office a bit. You won’t be performing tonight, but I want you to start your training. And if you’re up for it on such short notice, I think it would be a good idea for you to attend the shows tonight so that you can get familiar with how the nights here usually goes.”

“Sweet” Grian finally turns back to the other man, and gives him another smile. “Where do I, uh..”

“Get changed? I’ll have Scar show you the way, he’s often in charge of introducing new dancers to the beginner routines and things like that, so he’ll be happy to help. Hey, Scar!”

The last part was directed away from Grian, towards one of the men currently twisting around the poles in front of them. The man, presumably Scar, slipped down and joined the two.

“Hey Xisuma! I see you ended up hiring?” Scar cocked his head, and smiled curiously down at the unfamiliar man.

Xisuma beamed, “That I did, my friend! This here is Grian, he’s going to try working here for the next week or so to see if it’s anything for him. Would you mind taking the reins with showing him around the back area and getting him started? I’ve already showed him the front of house.”

“Sure thing, boss!” The friendly brunet said, before turning back to Grian while Xisuma made his way back towards his office.

“Grian, huh?”

“That’s me!” Grian let his body relax, looking up at Scar. The man seemed nice, and his friendly attitude hadn’t changed after Xisuma left the two of them. “You must be Scar, right? You’re gonna help me get started?”

Scar gave a charming giggle and confirmed, “That I am, my friend. Come on, let’s get you changed and warmed up. Then we can find out what we’re working with here, and I can teach you some of the basic routines!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Work (Bad Royale Remix) - Rihanna


	3. Put it down on me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian trains, flirts, gets a demonstration and lays out the groundwork for a prank. Not exclusively in that order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Let the flirtage and rowdiness begin, lol.

~ * ~

Grian found himself sweating and panting slightly, wearing yoga pants and a tank top, back pressed flush to the exercise mat beneath him.

“Damn, but you’re flexible!” Scar praised above him. The man was currently helping Grian stretch, testing his flexibility and strength before starting with teaching him any routines.

“Thanks,” Grian huffed out, face flushing slightly. The other man clearly didn’t cut any corners, and Grian hadn’t been this thoroughly stretched out in  _ months _ . “I do like to keep in shape, and,“ he paused to breathe when Scar pushed his leg a bit further towards his face. “-and you need to be kind of bendy to pull of some of the coolest moves on the pole.”

Scar smiled down at him. “That’s true! I also think we’re done with this part now, and I just want to let you know that I’m pleasantly surprised to see just how far along you already are. You’re going to make my job  _ too  _ easy at this point,” he jokingly complained while letting Grian back up from the mat.

Grian wiped his brow before laughing back at the other man, “Don’t say that just yet. While I love regular old club dancing and pole fitness, I’ve never actually tried combining the two. You might just get stuck with me for a while!” He batted his eyelashes playfully as he said the last part, before giggling boyishly.

…Yeah, Grian might be flirting. Just a bit. Sue him, Scar was cute, and Grian had  _ seen _ that man move on the pole earlier. He really couldn’t wait to start that part of the training. From what he’d seen, the other pole dancers of the club were all ridiculously fit, moving fluidly and seemingly effortlessly. God, he loved that.

He got pulled out of his thoughts by Scar laughing right back at him. “We’ll see.”

~ * ~

Grian was wiping away his sweat on a towel he’d gotten from Scar earlier, drinking some water while Scar was explaining what they were going to do next.

“Now, it’s time to move to the pole. I want to see your form on some of the moves that are in the routine I’m going to teach you later. Does that sound okay with you?”

Grian finished his water before drying off his hands on the towel, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he exclaimed, “Lead the way!”

Scar smiled down at the other man at his energy, and the two made their way over to the poles. Another man was currently working out on one of the poles in the middle of the row, but the two corner ones were free. Scar nodded his greetings to the man occupying the pole, saying, “Hey Tango! You good with us joining you? This here is Grian, by the way.”

Tango paused his routine up in the air, before he did a faux backflip back onto the floor, joining the two. Grian felt his eyebrows raise at the flippant demonstration of skill, suddenly more interested in the blond man before him.

“Sure thing guys! It’s always fun when fresh meat joins the family. Grian, right?”

Grian waved, still bouncing slightly as he spoke. “Yeah, I’m Grian. Just got the offer to start this morning, so now this poor fellow here is stuck with dragging me around for the foreseeable future,” he joked with the two men.

Tango burst out laughing, while Scar daintily let the back of his hand touch his own forehead, crying out, “Oh, woe is me! I’ve been  _ cursed _ with having to spend time with a bendy, hot twink! How could fate be so cruel!”

Grian felt his cheeks warm even as he joined the two in their senseless giggling. He wiped a tear that had escaped from the corner of his eye, the three of them slowly gathering themselves again.

Tango let out a loud breath, some stray giggles escaping before he clapped Scar on his shoulder. “Now now, it’s not that I don’t appreciate you two dorks acting cute over here, but I believe you were going to show the new guy a few things about the wonderful art of pole?”

Grian immediately schooled the grin that was threatening to escape him into an innocent expression. On the inside, however, he was filled with childish glee. It seemed that the other dancers, sans Scar, didn’t actually know about his experience on the pole, however different it might be from what they practiced at  _ The Hermit _ after dark _.  _ Oh, this was going to be  _ fun. _ However, he needed to get Scar to play along, seeing as the man already seemed ready to correct Tango.

Scar had barely opened his mouth before Grian interjected, tilting his head to the side and saying with an air of uncertainty he didn’t really feel, “Yeah, something like that. Scar said that it might be really painful in the beginning, is that true? You didn’t look like you were in pain.”

Scar shot him a look of confusion. Seeing the other man look up at Tango with wide eyes and a relaxed mouth made Scar let out a small smile of his own, deciding to play along with whatever the easy going man was planning.

“Well,” Tango considered, not seeming to notice that anything was off about the two men in front of him. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, so my skin has gotten calloused to the point where I don’t really feel it anymore, true. But I’m afraid Scar here is right, it might be a long time before you’re desensitized enough to do anything but floorwork on stage.”

Grian felt his bottom lip tremble with the effort of not letting his mask drop, but hopefully it wouldn’t do anything but make him seem more concerned. “Oh. Then, I guess I’ll give it my best shot! Scar?”

The man in question jumped a bit at hearing his name, having been caught up in observing the smaller man and his suddenly cutesy façade. “R-right! Let’s begin, shall we?”

Grian smiled and nodded up at him coyishly, the two of them walking up to the pole in the right corner. Tango seemed to be content with watching them for the time being, grabbing a water bottle and getting comfortable on a mat near the duo to observe Grian’s first lesson.

“Do you want to go slow, Grian? Or are you okay with me showing you a few of the easier moves in a set?” Scar asked Grian while wiping the pole with a towel.

The smaller man hummed in thought, before proclaiming, “I like to think I’ve got a pretty good memory. Go for the set!” He chose to ignore Tango’s charming laughter sounding out from behind him, and kept his focus on Scar.

Scar smiled at the smaller man, and agreed easily. “Sure thing! Watch closely.”

The moment Scar started moving, Grian felt his breath catch in his throat. He had seen the other man moving before, but now he had front row seats to really  _ appreciate _ watching those muscles move beneath the other man’s lightly tanned skin.

Scar started out with a simple half spin, only one hand connecting him to the pole while his feet swung elegantly, leading his body around the pole in a circle. At the end of the move, Scar twisted his body around until his momentum caught up with him and carried him in a smooth glide backwards, his legs lifting up and one of them curling enticingly around the pole, before his body twisted around and around it until he gently hit the ground. The man was now kneeling on the ground, his legs spread wide, and Grian swallowed roughly as Scar started doing some  _ obscene _ body rolls, still in the same position on the floor.  _ God, _ Grian thought deliriously,  _ he can move. _

After finishing the body rolls, Scar arched his torso away from the pole, stretching his arms towards Grian, fingers curling coyly while a small smirk danced upon the lips of the man that suddenly seemed less friendly and more like a feline about to  _ pounce _ . Grian was captivated, frozen in time – before the moment ended, and Scar’s hands met the floor before him, and he moved onto the floorwork.

Knees still spread from the straddle and his hips raised high, Scar’s upper body met the floor. Back arched, before he was sliding forward with his torso, stretching out on the floor until the pole was between the man’s thighs. One of the brunet’s legs suddenly swung in a wide circle away from the pole, the power behind the move easily carrying him up and around into a lounging position on his back, elbows tucked neatly into his sides. The position left him able to once again meet Grian’s wide eyes. Scar let his eyes drop down to Grian’s parted lips, lingering, before they darted back to the captivated man’s eyes sharply, meeting them with a smirk.

Scar raised his legs and did some impressive stretches and circling moves, before spreading his legs  _ wide _ . Grian startled when he heard Tango give a whistle behind him, having honestly forgotten about the other spectator to the demonstration Scar was giving. Grian took a few deep breaths at the reminder, the magic of the moment broken like a bubble. He didn’t know if he should feel disappointed or relieved.

Scar finished up his floorwork before getting up, not even panting, and shot a grin at the watching men. “So,” he directed to Grian. “Think you got all that?”

“Uh, Scar, buddy…” Tango started. “Don’t you think you’re going a little fas-” “-Yeah, I got it.”

Grian had been the one to cut Tango off, resulting in the lounging blonde to blink up at the smaller man. Grian was already walking up to the pole, wiping it down before getting into position.

Scar stepped back and sent a small mischievous smile Grian’s way. “Ready when you are!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Down on me - Jeremih


	4. And I see myself in this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The club opens, and Grian chats with Mumbo about the prank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More characters appearing!
> 
> Songs in this chapter: Could by Elderbrook.

~ * ~

It was later that night - just a few minutes after _The Hermit_ had opened its doors to allow the patrons into the club - that Scar showed Grian to a small table in the corner of the front of house, located next to the bar. “Here you go, I’ll leave you to get settled down here. You already know Mumbo, he should arrive to tend the bar any minute now… Oh, and I’ll be letting the other dancers know where you sit, so they might come over to say ‘hi’ if they find the time. Other than that… enjoy the show!”

Grian settled down on the chair, lounging backwards and throwing one hand over the backrest. He sent a quirked smile Scar’s way, and said, “Oh, I will!” with a small wink added in for good measure.

The other man chuckled at him, and Grian felt a surge of fondness for the other man. Scar had, after all helped him without complaint all day long, as well as played a part in his little prank. Grian hesitated, before he let his smirk shift into something softer, and he added, “Also… Thank you. This morning I was super nervous, believe it or not, but you helped change that around. I think it’s gonna be fun working here, and I look forward to working with you!”

Scar paused for the tiniest moment, before his eyes crinkled at the edges from the width of his smile. “It’s been no problem, Grian. I’m looking forward to be working with you, as well. For tonight, however, your only job is to relax with a few drinks, get to know the flow of the place, and maybe even learn a thing or two.”

Grian sent Scar a brilliant smile. “See you around, Scar!”

After the brunet retreated to the backstage area of _The Hermit_ , presumably to get ready for the performances, Grian took to watching the room he was in. Xisuma had showed him around earlier, but at that time the room had been still and empty. Now it was darker, contrasted only by sharp spotlights and neon accents scattered around the room. It wasn’t empty anymore, either. The tables were quickly filling up, the guests arriving in good spirits, the sound of their conversations steadily climbing as their drinks were emptied and refilled.

Grian had spoken for a short while with Mumbo when the lanky man had arrived, but with the early rush of drink orders the two hadn’t really been able to chat for long. Grian simply got his own drink and kept observing the people in the room.

The noise kept steadily climbing with anticipation, aided by the music slowly building and getting more and more heavy on the bass. Grian found himself leaning forward, watching the empty stages while holding his breath.

A new song started - and there they were. Two men were walking onto the stage, their feet bare and pointed toes dragging enticingly over the floor, fingers snapping to the beat as their hips swayed with the captivating rhythm of the song.

A glance away from their hypnotizing gaits told Grian that the rest of the room were watching the dancers just as closely as he himself was. He turned back to look at them, and startled a bit when he recognized one of them. _Tango_ was the one dancing, in sync with someone Grian could not recognize. Grian didn’t have time to notice anything but the unknown man’s white hair, before the two had reached the twin poles on the center stage just as the lyrics of the song started.

_‘Went down, for just a little too long. Went wrong, then you had to give out your gun.’_

The two dancers grabbed their respective poles, before they both dropped into a wide straddle crouch at the next beat to the audible excitement of the crowd. The two were so synchronized that had their appearances not been so different, they could have been reflections. At the next beat, they did a body roll upwards until they were back in a standing position, backs turned to the room. The next moves went by so quickly that Grian had a hard time grasping it, and he felt himself gape as Tango dipped down into a one handed handstand, other hand still on the pole, only for the second man to kick his leg up in a perfect split, before Tango kicked downwards again and the pair were once again mirroring each other, standing completely still.

The crowd let out a _roar_. Grian was so startled by the loud noise that he slipped out of whatever trance he had been in while watching the two men dancing on stage. He felt his cheeks flush, so he emptied his drink and stood up before walking the few steps over to the bar Mumbo was stationed at.

“Some way to start up the night’s shows, huh, Grian?” The tall man asked him in a jovial tone, smiling even as his eyes were focused on the countertop he was wiping off.

Grian leant over the counter, his own eyes still focusing on the performance taking place. “Yeah. They really know what they’re doing. I actually hung out with Tango some, today. He’s cool. Who’s the other guy?” His gaze left the stage and focused on the bartender as he gave a guffaw of laughter. “What?”

“Yeah, you’ve been hanging out with Tango, all right. I heard about the prank you pulled, you crazy lad. On your first day? Unbelievable. I honestly can’t believe I missed it!” Mumbo jokingly complained, eyes twinkling above his mustache.

Grian grinned widely, before saying, “A-hah! I _knew_ this place would be full of gossip! You should have seen his face, Mumbo! It was hilarious.”

“I’m sure it was. Tell me, what exactly did you do? I just heard that the new guy pretended to be a newbie before proceeding to wipe the floor with the beginners routine. Is that true?”

“Yeah!” Grian nodded, “I honestly don’t know how I pulled it off. Had Scar not been willing to play along it wouldn’t have worked at all. Tango assumed that I hadn’t been on a pole before, and I just didn’t correct him.”

Mumbo gazed at him knowingly. “If I know you at all - and we both know that I do - you did more than just _not correct_ him, you tease.”

Grian laughed at that, before agreeing. “Yeah yeah, fine. I might have led him on by asking stupid questions and played my cluelessness up quite a bit - but it was all in good fun. Afterwards he kept watching, so I simply showed him that the pole part of this job is nothing new to me. The floorwork however…”

Mumbo handed him another drink, quirking an eyebrow in a silent invitation to continue. The other patrons were still captivated by the show, the dancers performing another routine now, so the two were alone by the bar.

Gratefully accepting his drink, Grian took a sip as he thought about earlier that day. As he’d told Mumbo, the pole routine had been easy enough. He chuckled when he thought about Tango’s face when Grian caught a glimpse of it as he lay flat on his back, spreading his legs like Scar had done before.

He’d given Tango a wink, again the same as Scar, before bending one leg and rolling onto his stomach, his backside facing the two watching men. He’d used his arms to drag his chest across the floor, raising his behind enticingly towards the onlookers, before crawling back to the pole on his hands and knees. He proceeded to do the same swing upwards that Scar had done, but where the other man had stopped his demonstration, Grian decided to continue. It was simply _too big_ of a temptation when there were two hot guys watching his every move. Just a bit more. He felt himself shiver at the tangible weight of their gazes, before he threw himself back into motion.

He quickly went into an inverted position, hands and armpit squeezing around the pole as he used his core muscles to tilt his point of gravity backwards until his feet were above his head, one leg on each side of the pole. Grian had shifted his legs until the one on the outside could hook onto the pole, and his hands let go of the pole so they could reach behind him and grab the free leg behind his back. It was one of his more impressive bridges, if he did say so himself.

Grian paused there, deciding that he’d had his fun, and he kept the position as he took in the faces of Scar and Tango from his upside down position, sending them a smile.

_“Well guys? How did I do?”_

The roar of the crowd in the present brought Grian back from the fond memory, and he looked towards the stage at the dancers. To his surprise, Tango and the other man were gone, replaced by a new dancer that Grian had also yet to meet.

“It’s Etho, by the way.”

Grian blinked, and turned back to Mumbo. “What? Who?”

“The man that was dancing with Tango. I just remembered that you asked, before. The man with the white hair? His name is Etho.” Mumbo then nodded towards the stage. “And that’s Bdubs up there, right now. I think Scar will be on after him, though I’m not completely certain. He’ll need time to warm up and get changed, after all.”

“Oh. Okay, cool.” Grian took another sip of his drink. “I guess I should get back to my table, actually pretend that I’m doing research and not just ogling the dancers here or chatting with my dear friend, huh?”

Mumbo sent him a smile. “You do that. I think there’s someone looking for you, anyway. I’ll be right here if you need anything, pal!”

“Yeah, sure thing Mumbo!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Could - Elderbrook


	5. Yo ass betta show me some respect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian has a strange conversation, and can't stop thinking about it for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY Doc makes an appearance, lol. This chapter is a bit of a shorter one, but hopefully the next one will make up for it :)  
> Enjoy!

~ * ~

After waving to Mumbo, Grian went back to his seat. Sure enough, he could see someone approaching his table, just like Mumbo had said. It wasn’t someone he recognized, but as the man approached Grian noticed that the black t-shirt the man was wearing was donned with the logo and name of _The Hermit._ An employee of some sort, then. Grian looked back up, and gave the stranger a friendly smile.

“Hello there. I’m Grian! What might I do for such a gentleman as yourself?”

The man stopped in front of him, arms crossed. He didn’t say a word in response to Grian’s greeting, and Grian felt his smile slip a bit as the silence stretched on.

“...is everything okay?” Grian said, more hesitant than his initial greeting had been. Everyone else that he’d met had been polite so far, friendly even, and this new behaviour from one of the employees made nervous energy bubble up in his stomach.

The man just kept on staring. What was this guy’s problem?

“Oookay then. Unless you’re going to say something, I think I’ll get back to watching the performances now, if you don’t mind. Feel free to keep staring at me though, I know I’m quite the si-” Grian was suddenly (and, he thought, rather rudely) interrupted by the man speaking up.

“Is it true that you’re the new dancer?” His voice was rather dark and gravelly, and the man’s accent added to the rumbling feel of it.

Grian searched the man’s face. Dark hair, faint scars covering one side of his face. His closed off expression and posture was making him seem quite hostile, and though Grian could admit to himself that we was a tiny bit intimidated, he also knew that Mumbo was close by. He wasn’t being threatened, no matter how much the man’s behaviour was rubbing him the wrong way. He took a short breath, steeling himself, before he replied.

“Yeah, I am.” Then, he added for good measure, “As I said, the name’s Grian. Nice to meet you, mister..?”

The other man rumbled out a hum, seemingly considering something as his eyebrows drew downwards. “Doc.”

“Well Doc, it’s, uh, it’s been a pleasure. Did you want anything in particular, or did you come over just to say ‘hi’?” Grian gave a small, crooked smile, trying to lighten the strange mood between them while at the same time not so subtly trying to get the encounter to end. Just what was going on?

Doc uncrossed his arms, still frowning a bit down at the seated man. “You don’t seem like a typical dancer, is all. However, if Xisuma thinks it’s a good idea to hire you then it probably is. I work as a bouncer here. If you ever run into any trouble, come get me. I take my job very seriously.”

Grian stared up at Doc, wide eyed at the conviction with which the other man had spoken. “I… I can tell,” he mumbled. Grian felt his eyes narrowing as the man’s words truly registered in his mind. “Hey! What do you mean I don’t look like a typical dancer?”

The other man shot him a sharp smirk, before turning around and walking back the way he had come from. “I’ll see you around, Grian!”

Grian was still silently fuming and grumbling, lost in thought about the conversation that just took place when someone pulled out a chair from his table. Grian looked up at the newcomers, his cheeks still warm from the aggravating encounter with Doc.

Tango and his dance partner - Etho? Grian thought that was what Mumbo had called the white haired man - sat down across from him.

The pair were slightly flushed, the strain of the performance they had done still noticeable if one knew what to look for. Grian found that his own red face didn’t calm down when he glanced down and noticed the duo’s state of undress. Tango and the other man were both shirtless, now donning only matching pairs of black underwear. _Nice,_ Grian thought to himself, even as he politely redirected his gaze back to the men’s faces.

“Man, that was a load of fun! What did you think, new guy?” Tango asked Grian with a leer, followed by laughter. The white haired man at his side shook his head at Tango’s antics.

Grian replied with a smile and a shake of his head, “Guys, it was great. How did you even manage to do that so in sync? It was insane!”

Tango smiled proudly at the praise, while the other man at his side cocked his head at Grian, giving a smaller smile before offering his hand to the smaller man.

“Thanks. I don’t believe we’ve met yet. I’m Etho.”

Grian took his hand and gave it a shake. “Yeah, Mumbo here already told me. I’m Grian.”

The two men continued to sit and talk with Grian for a while before returning to the patrons in order to chat and sell lap dances, but Grian found that his mind was elsewhere.

What had that conversation with the bouncer even been? This _Doc_ character - he was confusing, yet… intriguing. Even as Grian met more dancers, chatted with Mumbo some more, and even watched Scar’s performance, he couldn’t quite push the strange man out of his thoughts.

When his head met the pillow in the early hours of the morning his head was slightly woozy. Grian felt tired beyond belief, and the last thing that floated through his mind before his eyes closed was the memory of intense eyes watching him from across the dark club. He fell into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: BO$$ - Fifth Harmony


	6. Hit you like what you sayin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new day begins, Grian is a tease, runs into some trouble and gets some demonstative advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is... suggestive with a big S, lol. Read at your own discretion. Flirty, thirsty boys.
> 
> Enjoy!

~ * ~

Grian slept in the next day. He didn’t have anything to wake up early for, and he was bone tired after the previous night. Everything, from the leftover adrenaline from the interview, meeting new people, the excitement, to the physical strain of the stretching and practicing itself. When he finally deemed it necessary to leave his bed, he did so with a loud and drawn out groan. He did have some errands to run before going back to _The Hermit_ for his training, after all.

A smile spread on his face when he thought about getting to spend more time with Scar again, and Tango and Etho as well. Maybe even Mumbo, if he ended up staying that long. His smile fell a bit when the fact that if he were to see Mumbo it would mean that Doc would be there as well made itself known in the back of his mind.

Grian grabbed a change of clothes with a sudden burst of energy, before skipping towards the bathroom to grab a shower before heading out. _Not a typical dancer,_ his ass. He’d show him.

He was going to give the training his all. And then… That weekend Grian would get the opportunity to perform on the stage for the first time. That’s when he’d show Doc. It was decided, he swore to himself. He’d show him.

After Grian had taken a much needed shower – and ew, why didn’t he take one last night? Grian hated the itchiness dried sweat left on his skin – he got dressed, grabbed his keys and his favourite red jacket before leaving the small apartment. He decided to grab a smoothie for breakfast from the deli across the street before taking a bus closer to the shop he wanted to visit.

He wanted some new gear. Some pleasers would be good, and Grian felt like treating himself to some nicer exercise clothes than the ratty old yoga pants he’d worn yesterday. _Give Scar something nice to look at,_ he thought with a small smirk. He didn’t have a lot of money at the time, but Grian could convince himself that this was an investment. Yeah. It would definitely pay off.

When Grian met with Scar at the club later that day to continue his work on learning the routine, he was pleased to note that the other man definitely seemed to appreciate his new attire.

During their stretches, Scar kept shooting glances at Grian’s newly exposed shoulders, which the man himself _knew_ were defined from all his previous pole work. After the fourth time the taller man paused his own stretching to simply look, Grian couldn’t help but tease a bit.

“You like my new top, Scar? I found it this morning, and I figured it would be perfect for the pole! I’ll get lots of grip with this, and it’ll be easier for you to see if I’m doing the moves correctly when it’s closer to my body like this.”

The other man startled a bit, before a dust of redness spread over his cheekbones. _Cute_ , Grian thought to himself.

Scar stammered out, “Oh, u-uh. Yeah! Yeah, it’s a good choice, yep, very logical. Practical as well, as you say. Yes, very good.”

Grian then let out a shark like smirk, before he added, “And I picked these shorts because they make my butt look good.”

Scar let out a startled laugh at that. “Oh, you little minx. Stop messing with me here!”

The two of them shared a laugh before returning to work.

After another long while of warming up Scar asked, “You ready to go through the rest of the routine?”

“Sure!” Grian agreed easily. “Think we can get through the whole thing today before the club opens?”

The other man looked up at the ceiling in thought, one hand tapping his chin as he considered. “It’d be great if we could. When you have the basics down, we can start training you with the group you’ll be performing with this weekend. The earlier we can start that, the better.”

“Great! Let’s go, no time to waste then.”

Scar chuckled at his enthusiasm, but nodded and led the way over to the poles nonetheless.

~ * ~

The floorwork was killing him. The pole moves, Grian was pleased to find out, were familiar enough to him that they weren’t really a problem. It was the flow and sensual movements in _between_ the poses and spins that he was struggling with.

“I know how to grind! I know how to twerk, – _badly, –_ but I can still do it! Why is all of this so hard?” he complained into the yoga mat he was laying face down on. He didn’t move, even as Scar dropped a towel on him for him to wipe away the sweat coating his exposed upper back and forehead.

He did, however, jump up into a sitting position with a small shriek when the taller man pressed a bottle of ice cold water to the heated skin of his neck. Grian glared, but accepted the offering even as Scar laughed at his misery.

“You certainly are an odd one. Most newbies find it to be the _pole_ that’s the challenging part, not the floorwork. You’ll get the hang of it though, you just need to loosen up. Relax. We’ll take a short break before we continue, okay? Rest up for a bit, I need to go speak to Tango.”

Grian grumbled an affirmation into his water bottle, and the other man left him sulking on the mat.

Grian sighed. If he wanted to prove Doc wrong by the end of the week, he knew he would have to get up off his ass and continue. Maybe he could take the opportunity to chat with some of the other dancers, see if they had any advice?

He perked up now that he had some semblance of a plan, and his eyes darted around the room to see if he could find a familiar face.

Over by the wall to wall mirror Grian saw what he was looking for – Etho, the white haired dancer Tango had partnered with yesterday. He was currently working through a routine of his own, this time without a pole. Instead the tall man was doing moves aided by a chair, and Grian found the choice odd. The longer Grian studied the man’s movements and how the chair factored in, the more he came to realize that Etho was practicing a lap dance routine.

He felt himself flush a bit, and decided that yes, that was perfect.

Grian found himself approaching the other man before he could think any better of disturbing him in the middle of his practice. Grian had Doc on his mind, and he couldn’t really pay attention to propriety or tact if he wanted to prove the aggravating bouncer wrong.

Etho disturbed Grian’s musings before the smaller man could figure out how to start the conversation. “Oh, hi there! Grian, right? What can I help you with, little guy?” The man wore a spandex turtleneck that he’d rolled up to cover his mouth and nose, but Grian could hear the friendly smile in his voice nonetheless.

“Hello Etho! Nice routine,” Grian said with a smile, but he couldn’t stop his curiosity from poking its head out at the garb covering the other man’s face. “Sorry to disturb you, I wanted to ask you something… but first, what’s with the sweater?”

“Oh!” Etho replied with a startled laugh, before he rolled the neck down so that his slightly flushed face and wide smile was visible. “I’m preparing for a themed event happening soon, and part of my costume includes covering the lower part of my face. Wanted to practice it before the big event to get used to the differences,” he explained.

Grian lit up. “Themed events? Oh, you’re gonna have to tell me _all_ about that. Later though, right now I _did_ want to ask your help with something.”

He then hesitated a bit, before he added, “If you don’t have the time or for any reason don’t want to, feel free to tell me to fuck off. But. I wondered if you could give me some pointers on floorwork? I’m struggling, and Scar had to take a break because I was-“ _Sulking._ “-being difficult. I’ve seen you move, and you make it look so easy! So I was wondering…” Grian trailed off with a questioning tone.

Etho, to Grians relief, simply smiled even wider. “Well, thank you! You’ll be glad to hear that I will not tell you to fuck off. In fact I’m happy to help! Happy to help,” he repeated, laugher clear in his voice, eyes crinkling at the edges and dimples showing on his cheeks.

“Awesome! Thank you so much, Etho! What do you want me to-“ Grian began to say, but the other man interrupted him with the same wide grin on his face.

“Just sit down on the chair and I’ll talk you through what I’m doing!”

Grian felt his mind short circuit a bit. What?

“Um.” Grian said eloquently, brain still having a bit of a blue screen of death. Sit? On the chair? That Etho was lap dancing with? _That_ chair?

At Etho’s continued silence and friendly smile, Grian wordlessly sat down in the chair, red faced and uncharacteristically still.

“Ready?” Etho asked him jovially, but the question must have been rhetorical because before Grian could figure out how to get his voice to work, the other man was already getting into position.

The movements started slowly. Etho stood with a wide legged stance, chin to his chest, arms hanging loosely by his sides with closed fists. He slowly raised his head, eyes locking onto Grian’s with an intensity that made the sitting man’s breath stutter in his throat.

There was no music playing, but Grian could recognize immediately that the other man was moving with a specific beat in mind, movements happening perfectly on a tempo that only Etho seemed to hear. The other man rolled his shoulders backwards, chest popping forward and leading into a slow body roll.

Grian startled a bit when Etho started talking, despite the other man having told him he would be doing so earlier.

“The trick here is to not rush – the slower a body roll can be done, the more sensual it will appear.”

Grian quickly nodded his agreement, easily seeing what Etho meant as he observed the moves being executed slowly in front of him. Grian found that he didn’t trust his voice. He gripped the edges of the seat and tried to pay attention to the other man’s smooth voice as he pointed out different things of interest to keep in mind with the different moves.

Etho let his hips swivel to the unheard beat while his arms dragged across his own stomach and up his chest. “The patrons are not allowed to touch, so you have to do that part for them. Where would they want to touch you when they see you move? You have to be in their mindset.”

He then threw himself into a knee slide, the change of pace making Grian’s pulse pick up a fair bit, before Etho, now in a wide straddle on his knees and noticeably closer to where Grian was seated, did some _obscene_ hip thrusts while one hand supported his weight behind his back, forcing his hips closer to Grian’s line of sight.

“This part is all about body control, really. You need to-“ Etho paused to take a breath, “-to lock different parts of the muscles in order to both keep the position while letting other parts move.” Etho’s free hand once again moved over his own chest before gripping a handful of his own hair.

Etho then kicked off with his legs and threw himself backwards – was Grian gaping? He felt like he might be gaping – into a one handed backflip, before he caught himself with both hands and ended up stretched out on his hands and knees, and started grinding filthily on the floor.

Grian surprised himself when he found his voice. “A-and the secret to that?”

Etho faltered in his movements for a moment before he continued, laughing breathlessly. “Practice. And lots of it.”

Etho then looked back at him, and Grian was once more unable to speak. His pulse was hammering so loudly that he hoped Etho wasn’t planning on saying anything else, because he did not think he would be able to hear a thing over the rush of blood in his ears.

Etho was _gorgeous._

The man crawled over to where Grian was sitting. He reached towards Grian and grabbed the backrest of the chair on either sides of the smaller man, before leaning in slowly. Grian felt the other man’s heated breath on his skin, and shivered.

Etho bit his lip invitingly, and whispered, “Here, too. Customers wants to-“

A voice cleared itself loudly by the two men.

Grian jumped in his seat, blinking rapidly, while Etho let out a breath with a smile – Grian’s head was spinning slightly as he felt the puff of air against his face once more – before he let go of the chair and turned towards the person that interrupted them.

Grian unclenched his stiff fingers from the edges of the chair and turned towards the newcomer as well.

Scar stood there, watching the two of them, arms crossed in fake impatience but his teasing smile giving the fact that he was merely amused away.

“Good thing to see you’re not slacking off, Grian! I didn’t know you knew Etho that well, but he’s a good choice for floorwork tips. Hopefully you feel ready to continue your own work now?”

Grian nodded frantically, not able to meet their faces as he felt himself once more going beet red and feeling strangely embarrassed. Etho laughed before speaking up, and the sound of it made Grian realize with a small start that the other man was still hovering slightly above him, having not moved out of his space.

“Happy to give you a show, Grian! Hope you got something out of it. Feel free to ask for my expertise _any_ time, alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: All the time - Jeremih


	7. I just need some peace of mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian finds an unknown hallway, meets some of the people that dwell there and proceeds to have a bad day, followed by multiple realizations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter... killed me. It's a mess bc Grian is a mess. Womp womp.

~ * ~

Grian was slowly but surely getting the hang of the floorwork. It wasn’t the most pretty or elegant thing in the world, but he could at least manage to get through the entire routine from start to finish without too many hiccups. The advice - and hands on experience - he’d gotten from Etho really did clear up some of his confoundedness concerning the floorwork.

Scar had seemed happy with Grian’s progress for the day, letting him off early with a smile and a ’good work!’ thrown his way. The man really was a sweetheart.

The invitation once more stood for Grian if he wanted to stay late and observe the performances, but Grian found that he was more interested in exploring the backstage areas of the club a bit more, so he rejected Scar’s polite offer with a smile of his own.

Grian found himself wandering between the different rooms of _The Hermit_ as the music and shouts of excitement grew from the front of the house. He felt a bit over stimulated after the past two days, and wandering alone just to let his thoughts settle felt like exactly what he needed. His mind was fried from memorizing the entire routine, trying to keep all of the tidbits of information and advice he’d gotten in mind, and simply from being in a new and exciting environment.

Most of the club Grian had become somewhat familiar with, but some of the hallways and rooms he could not remember having been in before. He wandered into one such hallway, lined with doors on one side in addition to the one on the end that he had just come through. Grian felt his curiosity peak as he heard soft music play from behind one of the closed doors, but any thought of having a quick peek got abruptly halted in their tracks when he felt something cold and hard clamp down on his shoulder.

Grian _shrieked_.

The thing left his shoulder as if burned, getting ripped away as quickly as it had arrived, and Grian whirled around to face his assailant and whatever strange metal object they had touched him with.

Grian didn’t know what he had expected to come face to face with, but it certainly wasn’t the bouncer from the night before.

The two men stood in the narrow hallway, frozen. Grian in a defensive stance while Doc still held both of his arms slightly outstretched towards the smaller man. Neither man spoke for a few seconds, and Grian could feel the adrenaline he’d suddenly had a sharp spike of receding, leaving his heartbeat pounding almost painfully hard in his chest.

“H-holy _shit,_ dude,” Grian finally stammered out, dropping out of his fight-ready stance like he’d had his strings cut and pressed the palm of one hand flat against his own chest to try and calm his hammering heart. “I almost had a heart attack, Doc. What’s your deal, huh?”

Doc’s mouth hung open, but no sound came out for a while. He looked just as surprised to see Grian there despite the fact that he’d been the one to approach the smaller man.

When Grian figured out that Doc was, much the same as last night, not in a rush to explain himself, he looked up from his slightly drawn inwards posture and studied the taller man with a sharp glower.

Doc slowly lowered his arms, and the dim light reflected strangely off of one of them, causing Grian’s eyes to snap towards it, thinking it might be a weapon as he saw the black, metallic sheen – but he noted with surprise that it was a prosthetic arm being lowered to a relaxed position by Doc’s side. The realization that the prosthetic must have been what had touched his shoulder struck him, and his eyes trailed town the metallic limb before returning to Doc’s face without a comment.

The taller man had managed to close his mouth while Grian was observing the arm. “What are you doing here?” Doc had apparently found his words again, too.

Grian replied, feeling irritation bubble up and sharpen his words, still feeling unsettled from the scare and even more on edge than he had been before he’d started his walk. Why Doc, of all people? And why tonight? Grian was already so tired— “I was simply exploring! Am I not allowed to do that, huh? Do I need to ask permission from you, or get Scar to hold my hand and walk me places? I’m an adult, you know!”

Doc looked taken aback at Grian’s overly defensive tone. “No, I… No one is supposed to be here without a bouncer present, that’s all. Club rules.”

Well. Grian certainly felt like an idiot. He felt his face flush, and his shoulders drew up towards his ears as he refused to meet Doc’s eyes. The taller man’s piercing gaze suddenly felt too revealing combined with Grian’s sudden feeling of shame and foolishness. He could feel those dark eyes burning into his skin, and Grian shivered despite himself.

Grian couldn’t read the other man at all, could do nothing but stand there and shiver as he felt those eyes on him, the weight of them as tangible as the hand upon his shoulder had been. His face burned.

Doc spoke up, tone hesitant and oddly calm, “Look, man, I… Sorry for scaring you. Let me show you out.” He reached out to lay his hand on Grian’s shoulder once more, presumably to guide him back out the door. The sudden gentleness made Grian feel like ice had suddenly pierced his core – it felt like _rejection,_ and Grian saw red.

He grabbed Doc’s wrist before it could land on his shoulder, fingers squeezing the dark prosthetic to keep the other man still as Grian spat out, “Why should I leave? You’re here, aren’t you?”

The tall man blinked down at him.

“What?”

Grian shot him a toothy grin, feeling slightly crazed, and said, “Are you a bouncer or not, Doc? You said that I’m not supposed to be here without a bouncer – well, I’m not! With you here, I think I’m good to stay.”

Grian was starting to ramble, he could feel it. But Doc made him feel so shaken up, and it was infuriating that the other man barely reacted to Grian at all. The wide eyed look he was currently getting was the most he’d seen the other man emote at all, and it was infuriating. _Intoxicating_.

Grian kept going, barely aware of what he was saying. He just needed to keep doing the things that made Doc respond to him, “Yeah, I think I wanna hang out here for a bit. There’s plenty of doors here, and I want to check out what’s behind them all. Or are you in a hurry to leave? Don’t you think you could handle spending some time alone with little old me? C’mon,” Grian tugged on the limb he still held firmly in a slightly clammy grip, “It’s gonna be _great,_ let’s start over there-“

“ _NO!_ ”

The prosthetic arm, warmed from Grian’s grip, got yanked out of his hand. It was Grian’s turn to blink, clarity coming back to him once again as he turned around and tilted his head back so he could meet Doc’s eyes.

Doc, who was staring down at him, wide eyed and blushing from his forehead to the hem of his black shirt.

Doc’s mouth flapped a bit, opening and closing and seemingly lost for words before he stammered out, barely coherent, “I – no, not so soon, I, I would _love to_ , but, uh, I would like to get to know – I, I mean, you – I’m working right now, so I couldn’t-“

Grian was doing a fair bit of gaping of his own, unblinking as Doc rambled and flailed before him.

“I – you know what, Grian, just – I’m just going to go back, okay? Please just – please behave, if you’re going to be back here, please, I have to go-“

And before Grian could even try to process any of that, Doc had rushed out the door and back into the darkness of the hallway leading up to the stages. The smaller man was left blinking in the corridor by himself, staring at the door Doc had fled through – because, what? Had just happened? What in the world was that reaction from the bouncer? It was like Grian had suddenly asked him to _marry him_ or something. He shuddered a little at the imagery, before laughing quietly to himself at the bizarre thought.

Grian jumped for the second time in the corridor when one of the doors behind him slammed open, the handle banging into the wall with a loud noise. His poor heart was hammering away, nerves already frayed from his earlier scare.

He turned towards the doorway that now gaped open, ready to expose its contents like he’d wanted it to since he first entered the damned hallway. Before Grian could see much, though, a short blond man walked out of the room, effectively blocking his way and quickly closing the door behind him.

The man was flushed and humming to himself, and he shuffled a bit with his feet as he walked towards Grian. After a few steps, the man looked up and noticed him standing there.

“Oh! Hi, sorry, I didn’t see you there. You waiting for a dance?”

Grian had been distracted, looking at the shade of nude lipstick marks covering the blond man’s neck, and quickly looked back up and met the man's eyes.

“What?”

“By gods, are you dense? First time back here, obviously. Where the fuck’s the bouncers gone off to? Look – I just wanted to let you know before you get any funny ideas – I know you saw the kiss marks. Don’t go in expecting anything like that, okay, the dancers don’t get that frisky with customers.”

“But,” Grian was so confused. He stammered out, barely understanding the conversation he was taking part in, “But you-“

“Well, I’m not a customer then, am I? I work here, you dolt.”

Grian felt lost, like there was too much information going above his head at a great speed, and he couldn’t get a hold of any solid thoughts, just snippets. This day was cursed, he decided. Once the strange blond stopped talking, Grian would head straight home and to bed. The only thing he could think to say was a quiet, “So do I.”

The blond man stopped, considered Grian for a bit, before suddenly changing his attitude. “Well in that case!”

Grian suddenly found an outstretched hand hovering in front of his face. He took it, if only to get some peace. This day was simply too much.

“The name’s Zedaph! I had heard that they’d hired some twink, but I haven’t seen you around yet! I’m the janitor here,” he explained jovially, shaking Grian’s hand with vigor. “And you are?”

“Grian,” he mumbled back.

“Grian! Well, it was nice to meet you. However, seeing as you didn’t know that the lap dances were taking place here, I feel like you shouldn’t be here alone quite yet. I’m not one to judge however, so do as you please. As for myself, I’m going to head out. See you around!”

And Grian didn’t even get to say ‘bye’ before the blond man had left him alone in the hallway once more.

The day was definitely cursed, Grian confirmed deliriously. The hallway might be, as well. If he could help it, he should try avoiding it for the foreseeable future.

Grian didn’t see anyone else as he gathered his things to leave for the day, and for that fact he was glad. His brain felt so full and yet entirely empty at the same time, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep for a hundred years.

The moment he came home and had kicked off his shoes, Grian faceplanted on his unmade bed. His last conscious thought was of how he would once more regret not having showered before bed when the morning came.

His prediction didn’t quite come to pass, as Grian startled awake a few hours later, body shooting upwards into a sitting position. A panicked realization had forced him back into consciousness, all thoughts of his lack of showering absent from his mind.

_Doc had thought he’d offered him a lap dance. A hands-on, touchy feely colleagues’ special-lap dance._

Grian immediately shoved a pillow in his face and let out a strangled half whine-half shriek, sinking back on the bed in embarrassment as he went back over the nights’ events, analyzing and connecting everything that had been said and done together with the knowledge he had in the present. And, yeah. He kind of got how Doc had come to the conclusion he did, however ill thought out it might have been – Doc _knew,_ after all, that Grian didn’t know what the purpose of the hallway was.

…Doc had looked kind of cute, though, when he was lost for words. He’d been blushing so prettily – no. No, Grian told himself in the darkness of his quiet apartment. No, he would not allow himself to think about the bouncer that way. Grian pressed a grin into his mattress, wriggling a bit in glee as he got an idea, mind already starting to conjure a plan of action.

_Not yet,_ he corrected his previous thought. _I will not think about Doc like that yet, not before I get him to admit what I’m capable of._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Jealou$y - The Neighbourhood


	8. Don't even try to hold it back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian works on the group routine, shows his progress to Xisuma and clears up some confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story is a series now. Different rating for the side stories tho, so read at your own discretion! Also, all of your comments fuel me. Thank you so much!
> 
> Song used in this chapter: Flesh - Simon Curtis.

~ * ~

The next few days, Grian threw himself into his work. He and Scar worked hard to get him ready for the group performance that weekend, and like Grian had hoped for, he was able to start working with the two men he would be dancing with on the next day. Impulse and Beef were both very nice, and Grian found himself enjoying their company whenever Scar gave him the go-ahead to practice with them.

They only had two days left until Grian’s debut, and he was currently warming up with his dance partners, shooting envious glances at their noticeably taller, bulkier frames as the three of them stretched on the mats.

“You need a hand with anything, Grian?” Impulse asked him, the ever-present smile on the man’s dimpled face giving his voice a friendly tone.

Grian smiled back at the man, shaking his head with a small laugh. “Only during the routine itself, man. The warmups? I got that in the box.”

Beef piped up from where he was bent over, stretching his quads, “You sure do, little guy! I’d give you an ‘A+’ on that part, for sure,” the man joked.

Grian laughed along, but he couldn’t help but feel some anxiety about the upcoming performance. There was nothing wrong with the routine at all, the choreography in itself was solid. Grian just couldn’t help but compare his performance to that of Beef's, and Impulse’s. The two men were just so much _bigger_ than him.

They were tall, handsome, muscled and broad. If Grian tried to imagine what the stereotypical male stripper’s physique looked like, Impulse and Beef would match that to a T.

He tried to match their movements as best as he could, pole work solid and floor work slowly improving, but he felt himself sticking out like a sore thumb between the two men dancing on either side of him. Even the moves of the routine itself were powerful, rather than the more flowing and graceful style Grian usually worked with. He found the challenging style quite fun, but his insecurities hindered him from truly enjoying it.

He found himself feeling a bit stumped, yet he was committed to giving it his all. If Xisuma and Scar meant that this routine would be a good way for him to start out, he was going to trust that they knew what they were doing.

Grian was brought out of his musings by Beef’s hand suddenly being in front of his face. He blinked at it, before looking up at the man while tilting his head questioningly.

“Come on, slowpoke. Let’s get started! We’ve got an audience.”

Grian grabbed the offered hand and got pulled to his feet, eyes searching the room to try and see who Beef was talking about.

Over by the barres, Grian noticed that Scar was stood talking with Xisuma. Huh, Grian hadn’t seen him since his first day there. Just then, the man in question looked up and met Grian’s eyes, face lighting up and giving him a little wave with the hand not resting on his hip.

Grian waved back, all the while a feeling of nervous butterflies suddenly started making him feel a bit queasy. An audience indeed.

Impulse walked to the side of their makeshift stage to turn on the portable speaker while Grian and Beef walked up to the poles, getting into their starting positions.

Grian took a deep breath, grounding himself. Just stick to the routine. No fooling around, try not to mess up the moves. This was his first chance to actually show his boss what he could do. He was determined to take it.

The familiar song started playing, fading in slowly and giving Impulse time to join the two men standing by their respective poles. Grian found himself quite stuck in his own head, laser sharp focus on the powerful, masculine moves he was supposed to be doing yet acutely aware of the fact that he probably looked like a puny stick in between the two beefcakes on either side of him.

_“_ _This' not the way into my heart, into my head_ _, into my brain, into none of the above.”_

As the lyrics started up, the song snapped into an almost hypnotic, repetitive rhythm. The three dancers sprung into action to match it. Grian danced, feeling the strain on his wiry muscles.

The three of them leaned slowly to one side, hips thrusting forwards at the beat. They repeated the move to the other direction before throwing their shoulders back, doing synchronised body rolls while tilting their bodies backwards until they caught themselves with one hand on the floor behind them.

_“This is just my way of unleashing_ _the feelings deep inside of me, the spark of black that I seem to love.”_

Grian found himself panting slightly, gritting his teeth at the burn in his thighs from how much control he’d needed to use to not have his legs collapse under him at the descend. When the upwards hip thrusts began, he threw his head backwards quickly, careful to match it to the beat, trying to fling his sweaty hair out of his eyes. He quickly returned his head to the position it was supposed to be in, hoping it hadn’t been too noticeable.

_“_ _We can get a little crazy just for fun, just for fun_ _. Don't even try to hold it back, just let go.”_

Letting his free arm join the other in supporting his weight underneath him, Grian let them bend, lowering his torso to the ground while his hips were being kept in their elevated position, making his back curve nicely. In tandem with Beef and Impulse, their arms slid and spread out over the floor before their legs followed, leaving the three spread out on their backs.

As the line ended, Grian used his core to pull his legs towards his head, letting his torso follow the momentum and finally tilting his neck to the side until he’d completed a back roll.

_“Tie me up and take me over_ _till you're done, till I'm tone.”_

The three dancers spread their knees from their positions of laying on their front sides, grinding their hips into the floor to the beat of the song.

_“You got me fiendin' and I'm ready to blow.”_

When they reached the last part of the verse, using the building intensity of the song to aid their purposeful moves as they stood up and backed up against their respective poles, eyes staring intensely at the audience.

Grian locked eyes with Xisuma.

He kept the eye contact as he raised his arms, grabbing the pole above his head. He only broke the gaze when he had to tilt his head backwards to get the pole in position for the next move, pressing it into the meat of his shoulder as the chorus began.

_“Push up to my body,_ _sink your teeth into my flesh. (Get undressed, ta-taste the flesh).”_

Core muscles tightening, Grian felt it allow him to raise his straight legs off of the floor, _snapping_ them into the inverted position of a spread ‘v’ shape towards his head at the sharp punch of the beat.

After the jerking motion towards his head, Grian let his outer leg wrap around the pole, using the steadying grip to twist his torso until his chest was pressed against the pole. The trio hooked the elbow of their upper arm around the pole before letting their feet unwind from their grips to the pole.

Grian was strong, and he was used to being on the pole. This part was still pushing the limits of the kind of moves he was able to perform _well_ in a routine. As a stand alone pose? Sure. But it was different in the middle of a routine, having to try and synchronise it with the other dancers.

_“Bite into me harder,_ _sink your teeth into my flesh. (Pass the test, ta-taste the flesh).”_

Grian straightened his legs, stretching them up into the air from his upside down position, only hanging onto the pole from his lower hand and supporting elbow grip, spread hand pushing him away from the pole while his elbow kept him locked in place.

They let their knees bend, twisting around in circles while keeping them pressed together before once more stretching them out and _parting_. Grian’s legs were once more spread out on either side of the pole, and as the trio bent one leg in a flirty manner, they shot a glance towards the audience.

For the third time, his eyes found Xisuma's from across the room.

Grian tore his eyes away. He was not falling behind the other dancers, but he certainly felt like his performance was not matching up to theirs in terms of raw power and sex appeal. He shoved the thought away. _Focus._

_“Hold me up against the wall_ _, give it till I beg, give me some more. Make me bleed, I like it RA (Like it RA, RA, RA)”_

One leg hooking around the pole again, the trio used it to pull until they were right side up again. They ended up in the position for a side climb, hands gripping the pole and both legs drawn up on the same side. They extended their legs, twisting around and down the pole until their feet met the floor.

_“Push up to my body,_ _sink your teeth into my flesh.”_

When the routine had ended, Xisuma walked over to the panting trio.

Grian was shaking slightly from the ache in his limbs, and he pushed sweaty locks of hair out of his face as he watched his sort of-boss approach, unsettling apprehension creeping up on him. Would the man change his mind about offering Grian a job, now that he’d seen how different he was compared to the other dancers?

Xisuma started talking before he had finished walking over, a smile on his face showing his excitement. “Well done guys, it’s starting to look real polished!”

Beef shot a grin at the man, saying, “Thank you, X! This one has been very fun to put together, and Grian here is catching up at the speed of light.”

Impulse nodded, smiling kindly down at the shortest member of their trio. “Yeah. You work like a horse, Gri! This weekend is going to be loads of fun.”

Grian felt himself flush at the sudden praise and waved the compliment away with an embarrassed laugh. “No man, this one is all on you guys and Scar for taking the time to teach me. I would feel bad if I didn’t repay the effort.”

Xisuma smiled at him. “Glad to see your hard work paying off in either case. Would you mind joining me in the office for a little while? I promise not to steal you away from your practice for too long.”

Grian felt his nerves bloom up again, but he swallowed it down. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go!”

The walk to the office was quiet. The only sounds echoing off the concrete walls were the clicking of Xisuma’s shoes and the muted padding of Grian’s bare feet as the two made their way over. Grian’s stomach was churning with apprehension, feeling slightly nauseated.

When Xisuma held the door open for him, Grian made his way over to the same chair he’d been sitting in the last time he was there without looking up at the taller man. The man soon joined him, settling behind the desk and leaning back in his chair.

The silence was broken by Xisuma asking him, “So how do you find it here so far? Are you fitting in alright, getting along with the others?”

Grian blinked, and he felt the shoulders he hadn’t even realized had been tensed up relax a bit. “Oh, I love it! The guys are really nice, and as I said; I’ve been getting a lot of help. I’m really excited to keep working with them,” he admitted with a warm smile sent up at the other man.

Xisuma returned his smile with an even bigger one.

“So you’re thinking of staying, then? Your first performance is coming up in just two days’ time, but from what I’ve seen and heard so far we’d be happy to offer you a permanent spot.”

Grian startled in his seat. “R-really?” he said, staring wide eyed at the man in front of him. “I mean – I’d love to! Yes, yeah absolutely! It’s just—”

He took a deep breath, lowering his eyes to the desk before continuing. “I just wasn’t sure if I was able to make the routine work for me? Like, Impulse and Beef – it fits them so well, you know? Meanwhile I’m just…”

“A twink?”

Once more Grian found himself startling and meeting Xisuma’s eyes. Had the man really just—

The man in question started laughing quietly at Grian’s shocked expression. “I know what you’re thinking, Grian. Most of the other dancers working the pole routines are bigger guys than you. But the club already _has_ that, which is why we ended up hiring _you_. We’re trying to appeal to a larger group of guests, right? And what we’re lacking in our current rotation is, well, someone like you!”

“A twink,” Grian said, feeling kind of silly. Of course Xisuma had known that he was a smaller, skinnier guy than the other dancers from the very moment the taller man had laid eyes on him. Grian didn’t - _couldn't_ \- move or look exactly like Beef, Impulse, Tango or any of the other guys... But then, he wasn’t supposed to, was he?

“Oh. Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense. I can’t believe I didn’t realise before, I’ve been kind of stressing out about it if I’m honest.”

Xisuma’s face softened further, giving Grian a warm, reassuring smile. “Well, if you’re wondering about what I'm thinking in the future, I would appreciate you simply asking me. There’s no stupid questions when it comes to the well being of my dancers, okay?”

Grian felt a warm shiver work down his back at being addressed in the slightly possessive way the other man had done just then. _Xisuma’s_ dancer. It was a comforting sentiment, settling in his belly even with the knowledge that the other man probably hadn’t meant for it to come out quite the way Grian was reading into it.

Grian had an active imagination, and there was nothing he could do about it. Wouldn’t, even if he could, anyway.

“On that note,” the tall man continued. “I wanted to give you some pointers on how to make that routine your own. You are allowed that kind of creative freedom as long as you work it out with the other guys. The more comfortable you feel in your skin when performing, the better you’ll be received by the patrons.”

Grian perked up. “Oh, that’s great! Lay it on me.”

“Well, for starters I’d like to see you embrace your natural advantages. You are performing a scene, bringing the guest’s fantasies and desires to life. The routine is, as you’ve seen, quite aggressive. Very masculine, powerful even.”

“And that’s not quite me,” Grian nodded. “So how do I fit into the fantasy?”

Xisuma bared his teeth in a wide grin, eyes glinting. “You’ll be the slut on his knees between them, of course!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Flesh - Simon Curtis


	9. Just like that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People are teasing each other, and Grian does some final preparations before the big night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took some time to get right, but I'm happy. Because.... the NEXT chapter will be..... well. Enjoy ;)

~ * ~

Grian blinked up at Xisuma. As the other man’s words registered in Grian’s mind, and he understood the _implications_ of them, a smirk started spreading on his face. “No way,” he giggled conspiringly. Oh, that would be _so good._

“Yes way,” Xisuma grinned back at him. “You will be doing the same routines for now, but I encourage you to talk with the other guys, plan out a story line that you want to tell the guests together.”

“Oh, this is gonna be so much _fun!_ ” Grian cackled, just about vibrating in his seat from the excitement and amount of ideas flowing through his head.

Xisuma huffed out a quiet laugh along with the smaller man. “If you’ve got that, why don’t you go back to Impulse and Beef? I’m sure you three will have a lot to talk about, as well as more practice to do before the club opens tonight.”

“Will do, boss!”

As Grian practically skipped out of the room, he heard Xisuma’s laugh follow him until the door to the office clicked shut.

Grian turned a corner on his way back to the workout room, and barely avoided colliding face-first with a solid chest. He jumped, and the other person flailed and grabbed at Grian’s arms, steadying him as they started to speak.

“Oh, oh no Grian, I didn’t mean to scare you! Oh gosh, I shouldn’t have walked so fast, I was completely in my own head and I didn’t think. Are you okay?”

Grian looked up, only to find that the person he’d almost ran into was Scar. The other man looked worried, eyebrows wrinkling together and eyes searching Grian’s face frantically.

“I’m fine, Scar, I just didn’t expect you to pop out like that out of nowhere. Relax, you’re not _that_ scary,” Grian winked at the taller man, feeling a teasing smirk spread across his face.

Scar squeezed his arms one last time before letting them drop down to rest by his own sides. Grian found that he missed the warmth of them immediately, but he pushed the thought away. Scar let out a small breath before giving a shaky smile of his own. “I was just on my way to Xisuma’s office, I needed to talk to him for a bit. What are you doing back here, anyway?”

“I just came from there actually!” Grian said, bouncing excitedly on his feet.

“Oh, really?” Scar asked him, his smile growing bigger as he did so. “And what were the two of you talking about, if I may ask?”

Grian’s smirk turned razor-sharp, not able to resist teasing, trying to fluster the other man.

“He called me a twink and told me to dance like a slut.”

Scar stopped smiling. In fact, he stopped moving at all. His mouth was hanging slightly open, and there was a faint wheezing noise from his throat. Grian wondered if he’d accidentally killed the guy, but with a _click,_ Scar snapped his jaw shut, a bright blush spreading quickly over his face. _Cute._

Scar sidestepped Grian, patting him on the shoulder absentmindedly without looking at the smaller man as he walked around him and continued towards the office. “You… I don’t want to know. I think it’s for the best, actually. Yeah. Yeah, you don’t have to tell me…”

Scar kept mumbling in the same manner as he disappeared behind the corner, stumbling slightly. Grian sent a fond smile after the other man, thinking of how much fun the performance in two days was going to be. Then, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing, and he spun around and bolted towards where Impulse and Beef should still be waiting.

He practically sprinted back to the workout room, bare feet squeaking against the floor as he ground to a halt in the entrance of the room. Quickly spotting his dance partners, he ran over and threw his arms around their necks, causing Impulse to laugh and Beef to yell, respectively.

“Guys, you’re not gonna believe this. So, Xisuma and I have an idea…”

The day went by in a blur of ideas, trials, giggles and practice. At some point the club had opened and Impulse and Beef had left to perform, and Grian had hung out a bit and talked with the dancers before leaving himself. He wanted to be as prepared for the last day of practice before his big debut as he could, so an early night with plenty of rest was in order.

The day after went much the same way, Grian laughing and having fun while playing around with the routine, getting feedback and teasing remarks from his two partners. Together, they managed to get it to work.

Impulse was a tireless ray of sunshine, Grian learned over those two days, the man simply oozing positivity, constructive criticism and compliments over Grian and Beef. He never complained, even when it was obvious that he was getting tired.

Beef was the same, in many ways, but his enthusiasm presented itself differently than Impulse's. He showed his kindness with suggesting breaks when he noticed Impulse's shaking arms or Grian getting stuck on a part of the routine, fumbling over what to do. It was him bringing extra towels in case the other dancers had forgotten theirs.

The two of them had good chemistry together, and Grian was happy to learn that he didn't stand out as much with the two of them as he had first feared. They accepted and welcomed him into their group with open arms.

He felt safe with the two of them, and after the three of them had the night off before Grian's big day, they had all exchanged social medias before going home to rest.

Grian felt tired out of his mind, and nervous excitement was bubbling in his stomach so intensely that he was worried he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, lying in bed yet feeling wide awake. Then, his phone chimed.

Grian blinked, and grabbed it - wincing a bit at the bright light of his screen - before opening the message that had popped up.

It seemed Beef had made a group chat with the three of them. Grian smiled at his screen, curling up on his side and leaning his head on one arm as he read the single message in the chat.

**Beef:** _Hey, what should our group name be?_

Before Grian could reply, Impulse sent a message.

**Impulse:** _Ooh good thinking! This routine is gonna be a hit for sure, we need a name!_

Grian smiled, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach calm down a bit, seeing that his friends and dance partners actually believed in his abilities enough to think it'd be a success. Huh. Who knew?

**Grian:** _How about the hot thots? lol_

**Beef:** _nO_

**Impulse:** _LOL :D_

**Grian:** _> :D_

**Impulse:** _jocks and sluts?_

**Beef:** _there's only one slut though._

**Grian:** _true_

He paused to think about it, smiling and kicking his legs gently underneath his blanket. Then he got an idea, and he hurriedly typed it out to the other dancers.

**Grian:** _Okay but real talk.. how about dichotomy?_

The day had arrived. Grian couldn't really believe it'd been a full week since he'd first walked through the back doors of _The Hermit_. It felt like much, much longer - yet no time at all, all at once.

He strolled in on time, just finishing his smoothie as he waved at Scar and Tango when he passed them on the way to find Impulse and Beef, when he noticed something that made him pause. There, on Scar's neck... there seemed to be a smudge of something. Grian was about to point it out, but then the man turned to look at Grian questioningly, and Grian suddenly got struck with recognition.

It was lipstick marks, the same colour he'd seen on the blond man he'd met in the hallway - _Zedaph_ \- and both the memories of the events taking place in the hallway itself, and also the telling realisation that Grian could recognise the marks on Scar's neck made him snap his open mouth shut, teeth clanking together rather painfully.

Scar scrunched up his nose in a confused gesture, but Grian didn't want to have to explain himself or why the marks on the other man made his face burn, so Grian quickly shook his head and hurried out of the room.

He found Impulse chatting with Etho as the man was warming up, Beef nowhere in sight.

"Hey there Grian! I hear today is your first performance, eh? How's the floor work been going?" Etho smiled at him as Grian made his way over to the two of them, before the man patted the workout mat next to him.

Grian dropped down next to the man with a thankful groan, slumping right down into a pancake-stretch and pressing his face into the mat. "The floor work is going great actually, I'm just - nervous and excited. No one's seen the finished routine yet."

He felt a hand patting his back consolingly, and Impulse spoke above him. "It's gonna be great though, don't worry. You've been working really hard! I, for one, have complete faith in us."

Grian gave a small grumble at that, but he couldn't stop himself from letting a smile emerge at the other man's words, pressing it into the mat for a moment before lifting his head to peek up at the other man. "Thanks, Impulse."

Etho coughed loudly beside him. Grian startled, and shot a confused look at the other man. Etho wasn't looking at Grian though, he was smirking slightly at Impulse with one eyebrow tilted up teasingly, a playful expression in his eyes. When Grian looked at the man who's hand was still on his back, Impulse was staring back at Etho with a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

Grian felt like he was missing out on some context, some vital piece of information having flown straight over his head and causing him to not understand what was going on between Impulse and Etho in that moment. He voiced his confusion, eloquently and with a simple, "What?"

At the sound of his voice, Impulse jumped a little before jerking his hand off of Grian's back, shooting the smaller man an embarrassed look. "N-nothing Grian! Etho was just leaving, right Etho?"

Grian looked between the two men, Impulse still red-faced and Etho calmly grinning, seemingly at an impasse.

Then, finally, Etho raised both hands in a placating gesture as he laughed and said, "Yeah, sure, I was leaving. Have fun, you two! Give Beef a hug from me when he gets here."

Impulse kept quiet, so Grian answered Etho as he was getting up and preparing to leave. "Will do, Etho. Have a good day, yeah?"

"Thank you, Grian," Etho sent the smaller man a kind smile, eyes shimmering with mirth and warmth. "I'm looking forward to seeing you perform tonight. Try and have fun!"

And with that, Etho turned around and left the two of them alone on the mats. Grian turned back to Impulse, raising one eyebrow in an obvious question when the other man refused to meet his eyes. Grian had never seen Impulse so... flustered? Embarrassed? No matter what it was, it bothered him that he had missed out on what made Impulse react like that.

"Just," Impulse finally muttered out with an embarrassed smile, "let's just wait for Beef, okay? I'll explain it to you after we've performed. Maybe over some celebratory drinks, yeah? Not now."

"Fine," Grian accepted, mind still churning but willing to let it go... for now. Another question then entered his mind, "Where is Beef by the way? Running late?"

"Oh! No, he's just picking up the finished costumes for tonight," Impulse exclaimed. He was still flushed, but he seemed a bit calmer now that Grian had agreed to let the strange behaviour go. "Now, we better finish getting warmed up. Beef can catch up when he gets here, meanwhile we can run through our scenes a few times before he arrives."

Grian agreed easily. Warming up, practising, costumes and makeup, and then... it was opening time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Like That - Doja Cat ft. Gucci Mane


	10. Something new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian has his first performance, attends the after party and gets some air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the end of the first arc. Have an extra special long chapter to finish this part of the story off with a bang! The story is far from over though, and the next arc will contain more dancing, the beginning of the poly relationships, and... a mystery. For now, enjoy these 5600 words of dancing and softness!
> 
> Song featured in this chapter: Flesh - Simon Curtis

~ * ~

Grian stood backstage at _The Hermi_ t. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, back and forth. His bare feet were not making much of a sound against the cold floor, but his nervous energy was still enough to make Impulse fret a little beside him. Beef was a quiet reassurance on his other side.

He took a trembling breath. "Are you sure you guys are okay with every part of this? And- my costume, is it alright? I know it's too late to change it, but--"

Beef cut him off, voice light and kind. "We have already told you that we are. Are you okay with it?"

Grian blinked. "Yes, but-"

"Then no 'but's," Beef said kindly, yet with no room for discussion in his voice. "Just do what you do best. The costume is great. You'll do great."

The costumes in question were at first sight quite unassuming. Loose grey velcro pants. Impulse and Beef sported white flannels, opened and showing off their bare chests beneath. Grian, on the other hand, wore a tight-fitting white crop top with his loose pants.

"The guests are gonna love it," Impulse shot in with a wide smile. "The other dancers, too, I'm sure of it."

Grian felt the corners of his own mouth begin to inch upwards. Their good moods and faith in him really were contagious. "And the contrast... it's not too much?"

"Gri, we're calling ourselves 'Dichotomy' for a reason. The contrast is kind of our selling point!" Impulse's smile turned a bit crooked as the man sent him a playful wink. Grian giggled at the sight of it, feeling his nerves recede even if they didn't leave him completely.

The familiar opening notes of the song they were dancing to began to fade in, bass causing the floor to rumble beneath Grian's bare feet. The intro looped, tension building as the DJ announced their trio by their names, before giving the title of their act. Grian couldn't help but smirk when the voices of the crowd rose with enthusiasm and recognition at the word and what it happened to sound like.

Then, they walked in.

The three of them wasted no time, going straight for the poles situated upon the stage. The moment Grian's feet actually hit the raised platform, it felt like he was entering another world.

The energy changed. A strange buzzing filled his entire body, dozens upon dozens of eyes locked upon the three men walking across the stage. The hollers, shouts and catcalls all blended together in his ears until it was just noise, the volume of it building up underneath his skin and making him feel the room's excitement, their anticipation.

The lyrics cut through him, and he moved.

_"This' not the way into my heart, into my head, into my brain, into none of the above."_

He repeated the moves that had become ingrained into his muscles, into his very bones, the movements feeling natural and easy as he already started differentiating subtly from what he knew Impulse and Beef were doing on either side of him. They leaned to the side, and Grian rolled into the move, making it seem fluid and effortless. The sharp hip thrust was a contrast against the flowing nature of the previous move, before the lean and thrust were repeated.

Impulse and Beef rolled their shoulders back, letting their open shirts slip down and show off their bare upper arms and shoulders beneath, before leaning backwards and catching themselves on one hand behind their backs.

Grian, however, did no such thing. He threw himself forward, landing and sliding on his knees with spread legs, doing body rolls backwards until his back was flush with the floor.

_"This is just my way of unleashing the feelings deep inside of me, the spark of black that I seem to love."_

Then, all three of them started hip thrusting at the same time, from their contrasting positions. Impulse and Beef; powerful, masculine, above him. Grian; spread out, flexible, below them on the floor.

Money started raining down on him as the crowd gave a roar, and Grian burned. Yes, yes, yes.

He raised his torso back up again earlier than the others, shooting a sultry look into and amongst the audience as he remained in his spread out kneeling position as he grabbed handfuls of the bills covering the stage and dragged them down his chest and bare midsection.

He thought he caught a glimpse of eyes by the door, flashing in the darkness, but the song moved on and so did Grian.

_"We can get a little crazy just for fun, just for fun. Don't even try to hold it back, just let go."_

As Impulse and Beef lowered their upper backs to the floor, keeping their hips raised into the air, Grian turned his back to the audience. He crawled over to Beef, letting one hand drag along his hip and tracing a line up his torso until the other man had gone into the backwards roll.

Beef squared his shoulders and paused, giving Grian time to grab a hold of the bigger man's upper arms, using the purchase to slide his own body underneath Beef's. Then, Impulse and Beef started grinding.

_"Tie me up and take me over till you're done, till I'm done."_

Grian threw his head back and lifted one leg to hook an ankle over Beef's thigh, before he let his arms spread out from his position on his back beneath the other man, and he could feel his hands touching countless pieces of bunched up paper, money positively covering the stage as the volume of the crowd rose as they recognised their positions as the suggestive move it was.

_"You got me fiendin' and I'm ready to blow."_

Grian released his leg from its perch, and shoved against Beef's broad shoulders, allowing him to slide out from beneath the other man just before him and Impulse returned to their feet. The two of them ripped off their velcro pants, revealing the tight, black shorts they wore underneath.

The lights were warm and blinding, but the money raining down upon the stage were contrasting starkly against it, the outline of the paper bills appearing stark black against the spotlights.

Grian stood up himself as the music rose, still wearing his full outfit as he swung his hips while approaching his dance partners. Then, Beef reached out and _ripped_ his pants off, leaving him in the tiniest white shorts he had managed to squeeze into. The patrons were hollering, the sound of it shrill and filling Grian's head with _glee_.

He quickly darted out from Beef's outstretched hands, and made his way over to his designated middle pole. The other men did the same on either side of him. They backed up into them, Impulse and Beef keeping their flannels hanging off of their muscled upper arms to allow the meat of their shoulders to get in direct contact with their poles.

The tension was building... and then the chorus started.

_"Push up to my body, sink your teeth into my flesh. (Get undressed, ta-taste the flesh.) Bite into me harder, sink your teeth into my flesh. (Pass the test, ta-taste the flesh)."_

The meat of Grian's shoulder dug into the pole uncomfortably as he tightened his core and lifted his legs off of the floor, hands gripping the pole above his head as he jerked his legs into the standard inverted position over his head, tilting his point of gravity as his weight shifted.

The three of them moved into the leg hook, and Beef and Impulse followed it with the original elbow grip until they could release their legs from the pole in an impressive display of strength.

Grian, however, used the grip of his outer leg to swing himself into an upright position, preparing himself for the next pose. He steeled his nerves, knowing the ‘Chopstick’ was a painful move, but it was one of his favourites for a reason.

He held onto the pole with both hands, locking him in place and allowing him to reposition his legs until the pole was situated in between his thighs, legs outstretched in front of him and pressed tightly together.

He squeezed his legs and released his left hand from the pole, leaning around it with his upper body until his freed hand could grab the ankle of his right leg, still stretched out in front of him.

Grip tightening, he let his legs release from each other. His exposed midriff, right hand and inner thigh were his only points of contact to the pole, skin pinched and keeping him from crashing to the floor as he spread his legs into a split in midair.

Right on beat, the trio on stage snapped their faces towards the audience, moving in tandem.

Grian's eyes found Doc easily, drawn to him. The bouncer was clearly visible from Grian's elevated position on the pole, though the blinding lights shining upon the stage made it hard for him to make out which expression donned the other man's face. Not that it mattered, as long as he was looking.

_"Hold me up against the wall, give it till I beg, give me some more. Make me bleed, I like it rough. (Like it rough, rough, rough)."_

Grian untangled himself until he was sitting on the pole, finishing getting out of his previous pose in tandem with the other dancers. The three of them slid down, landing on the balls of their feet.

He sauntered over to Impulse as Beef started peeling the flannel he was still wearing from his toned chest and arms.

While the third dancer was busy, Grian turned his back on the audience and faced Impulse. He let his hands touch the other man's bare chest, slowly dragging them down his defined muscles as Grian lowered to his knees, making the patrons positively roar behind him, his hands landing on Impulse's hips and tilting his head up to gaze at the other man's face.

Impulse was staring back at him, cheeks flushed from exertion as he rolled his shoulders to get out of his own shirt. Impulse rolled his hips towards Grian's face, and the smaller man flushed even as he could see Beef out of the corner of one eye. The man was throwing his shirt off to the side, signaling to Grian that the next part was coming.

_"Hold my arms above my head and push my face into the bed, cause I'm a screamer baby, make me a mute."_

As Grian began to lean forwards into Impulses lower body, he felt Beef grab his arm and pull him away. He rolled easily with the move, letting the bigger man press him into the floor as he crawled over Grian.

Beef didn't stop until his crotch was hovering over Grian's head, and he started doing thrusting motions against him, leaning his weight on his elbows as he danced. Beef didn't actually touch him like that, but it was a close thing. And to the audience, it sure looked like he did.

Grian let his hands reach up and cup Beef's outer thighs, making it easy for Impulse to grab his wrists and yank him out from under the other man and up to his feet.

_"Wanna wrestle with me baby? Here's a sneak little peek; you can dominate the game cause I'm tough."_

Beef got up and went to the edges of the stage just as Grian felt Impulse's gentle grip around his wrist guide him around in a spin, facing sideways on the stage and making it look like his hand was being yanked behind his back by the taller man. Grian threw his head back wantonly, grinding his hips back against the other man's hips in an exaggerated motion.

Grian was spun around again until he was facing Impulse once more, but this time Grian was the one to grab Impulse. He hooked his hand around the taller man's neck and walked backwards with a coy grin, trusting the other man to guide his way until he felt the cold metal of the pole against his back.

_"Push up to my body sink your teeth into my flesh. (Get undressed, ta-taste the flesh)."_

As the chorus started up again, Grian let go of Impulses neck as the man slipped away, only to be replaced by Beef. Impulse would be doing some impressive lifts and poses on the pole, Grian knew, but he wouldn't get the pleasure of seeing the man do them.

Instead, Grian gripped the pole above him with both hands as Beef reached down and gripped Grian's thighs with both hands. Then, he lifted; Grian sliding easily upwards with his back against the pole, thanks to the crop top he was still wearing. When he was high enough in the air, he wrapped his legs over Beef's shoulders, letting the man's hands have a break.

To the patrons, it looked like he was riding the man's face. Grian bucked and ground his hips, playing into the illusion.

When the end of the chorus was approaching, Grian shifted his grip until he could lift himself off of Beef's shoulders, swinging up and around the pole before twisting downwards, spinning around it as he descended to the floor in a spiralling movement. He finished in a split, just because he could.

He was having so much fun, it was crazy. His nerves were forgotten, and Grian thrived under the excited eyes he could feel moving over his skin.

Impulse and Beef grabbed Grian's upper arms, one man on each side, as they pulled him up before the song entered the slower bridge.

_"Hold me down and make me scream, lay me on the floor. (Me on the floor, la-la-lay me on the fl-oor)."_

The two of them ground and thrusted against the smaller man who was pushed in between them, leaving enough of an opening that the patrons would have full vision of all three dancers.

Grian let his hands dance and run over the two of them, and warm hands on his naked shoulders guided him to turn around a few times so he could get to both of them. With a twinge of embarrassment, he noted the interest in his lower regions, but he was reassured by the same thing happening to his dance partners.

It was normal, in their line of work. They moved on.

_"Turn me on, (turn me on,) and take me out, (take me out). Make me beg for more."_

Impulse's warm eyes met Grian's own, a slight smile playing on the taller man's lips as he gently gripped a fistful of the smaller man's hair, using the grip to guide him downwards.

Time seemed to slow down, their movements becoming sensual and perfectly in time with the beat of the song. Grian's eyes were still locked on Impulse's face, the man's hand still in his hair as he felt Beef caress his neck from behind. The sounds of the music and crowd faded away.

Grian closed his eyes for just a short moment, taking a shallow breath, and then time and sound rushed back to him as he snapped his eyes back open just as the music picked back up again.

_"Push up to my body sink your teeth into my flesh. (Get undressed, ta-taste the flesh)."_

Grian heard the telltale sound of feet slamming against the floor behind him, immediately followed by a roar from the guests, telling Grian that Beef had executed a backflip behind him. Grian knew from their practice that the man would the proceed to grind against the floor, and so Grian and Impulse moved, taking their cue.

Impulse leaned back, using his powerful legs and core muscles to lower himself until he could slide backwards. He kept his hold on Grian's hair, making the smaller man crawl over and after the reclining man until he was sitting on his lap.

Grian started bouncing the moment Impulse's hands moved from his hair to his hips, the bigger man thrusting his hips to make Grian move.

He felt the warm hands on his hips tighten, signalling that the next part was coming. Grian bowed his back while he sat on Impulse's lap, reaching above his head while the man beneath him elevated his hips to make the transition easier for him. Grian's palms touched the floor, and Impulse gave him a shove.

The bridge turned handstand made Grian's head spin for just a moment, but he kept moving. The song was nearing its end, and the routine would end with it.

His eyes sought out Beef, who had rolled until he was on his back like Impulse had been. Grian lowered his feet to the ground and crawled over, settling on the man's lap. He'd been facing towards Impulse before, but now he had his back turned to the man he was sitting on.

Grian supported his weight on his arms on the floor, leaning slightly forwards as he ground his hips down against the other man.

He was flushed with exertion, mouth parted and panting as he looked up through his bangs to eye up the crowd. He felt the corner of his mouth drag up into a smile as he sent a wink at the closest table, followed by giggling and bills getting thrown his way.

_"Push up to my body sink your teeth into my flesh. (Get undressed, ta-taste the flesh)."_

As the final chorus started, Grian crawled off of Beef's lap and made his way towards the edge of the stage, still on all fours. He paused before the table he'd winked at before, knees spread as he did some body rolls while letting his own hands caress his body.

When a man held up some impressively large bills in front of him, Grian winked and thrust his hips towards him, holding them still as the man slipped the money into the hem of his shorts to the hollering glee of the occupants of the table.

Grian did a back roll away from them, before dragging his body, crawling sensually and making his way over the stage towards some other tables to repeat the process a few more times until it was time to end the routine.

Two pairs of warm, strong hands gripped him around his upper arms, and they lifted him up and carried him to the centre of the stage while Grian kicked his legs playfully, winking and coyly gazing at the audience all the while.

_"Push up to my body sink your teeth into my flesh."_

When the final line of the song rang out throughout the club, Grian was deposited back on his feet and promptly spun around by the two of them so his back faced the audience. The two men moved their hands to Grian's shoulders and pushed him down, so that he was kneeling on the floor between them.

The song came to an end just as Grian threw a sultry look over his shoulder towards the patrons, his eyes searching out Doc's immediately.

There was no silence even after the music changed from one track to another. The crowd was on its feet, money and screaming raining down on the three men on stage. Grian felt a rush course through him as it hit him - he did it. He made it through his first routine, his first performance at _The Hermit_.

His head spun a bit at the realization of it, and it must have been evident in the loopy grin covering his face. Impulse grabbed his hand and led him backstage. The extra support was probably a good thing, because Grian felt his knees shake and wobble beneath him as he walked.

He was still grinning.

A water bottle was thrust into his hands, and he blinked in surprise as he fumbled with it, trying to get the lid open. The adrenaline that had been coursing unnoticed through his body was finally registering in his limbs, making them uncoordinated and jittery. He felt great. Elated, and as Beef and Impulse crowded in on him after one of them had grabbed some robes for the three of them and draped one over Grian's shoulders, he couldn't help but to giggle with slight disbelief at the whole situation.

He was a stripper.

He had just stripped, in a strip club. He'd let strangers shove money into his underwear. He'd made it look like he was riding another man's face. In front of a room full of strangers.

It was unreal.

"That was amazing!" Impulse bust out, beaming at his dance partners. "Did you hear the guests? That was an incredible response!"

"How are you feeling, Grian?" Beef asked. His voice was calmer, but his smile was no less friendly than Impulse's had been. Grian couldn't help but feel his heart warm at their enthusiasm and care.

"That was so much fun! I'm honestly in a bit of shock, still. It was incredible! It felt like no time passed at all!" He might have been rambling a bit at this point, and he let out a startled laugh as he realized, "And I have money in my pants!"

Impulse laughed with him. "Yes, you do."

Beef shook his head at them, smiling exasperatedly. "Better get it out before it chafes, those shorts are tight enough on their own! I'll go pick up some fruit for us, okay?"

Impulse smiled kindly at the other man. "Good plan. We can go change in the meantime." He directed the latter part at Grian, giving the smaller man an inquisitive nod.

"Yeah, sounds good," Grian agreed easily, starting to feel fatigue set in from a mixture of physical activity and the earlier excitement.

Once they had all changed and eaten the fruit Beef had brought them, Impulse and Beef began preparing for the rest of their shift. Grian, however, only had the one performance scheduled that night. He decided to relax in the back while he waited for the club to close for the night.

He went to the bathroom and washed himself off as much as he could be bothered to, not really feeling the need nor the energy for a proper shower. After changing into some soft yoga pants and his favourite red hoodie, he sat back and relaxed in the staff room while munching lazily on a granola bar.

He felt calm and warm, content with his performance - he still couldn't quite believe it. Him, Grian, out on stage, stripping! And people liked it! A smile pulled at the corners of his lips, and he giggled to himself.

Grian leaned back on the worn couch he was sitting on, closing his eyes and resting his head on the concrete wall behind him. He could feel the vibrations from the music’s prominent bass reverberate through it, the club's DJ playing loudly enough for it to make the building shake.

It felt... soothing, in that moment. Grounding.

He might have dozed off for a little while, because his eyes blinked open when the sofa shifted beneath him as another person sat down on the opposite side. Grian felt too relaxed to even bother with feeling embarrassed at having fallen asleep in the semi-public space.

Grian looked at the newcomer and found it to be Xisuma. A gentle smile was dancing on his lips, and Grian returned it with a pleased expression of his own as he burrowed deeper into his comfortable sweater. He gave a small wave, saying, "Hey," with a raspy voice.

Xisuma huffed out a quiet laugh. "Hi yourself. That was quite the debut performance, Grian. You are a natural on stage."

He squirmed, feeling pleased at the praise. "Thank you. Both for giving me a chance, and for the compliment," and because Grian really couldn't help himself, he winked jokingly at the other man.

Xisuma didn't laugh it off, though. The smile on his mouth widened, gentle eyes still watching Grian as he gave a small nod.

"You're welcome. Tomorrow we'll need to start working out a schedule for you, planning out collaborations and discussing the details of what kind of work you might be interested in doing here, seeing as we also offer both lap dances and private performances - but none of that tonight. I presume you've been informed that the club will remain open for staff after hours today in your honour?"

Grian nodded excitedly.

Xisuma continued, "Good. It'll be a fun little celebration for you officially joining the family. I know you've been making friends, so I think people will be happy to get a chance to fawn over your first performance and to officially welcome you to the club. Oh, and drinks are on the house."

"Thank you, X," Grian smiled up at the other man, feeling warmed to his core by the kindness being offered to him. "What time is it, anyway?"

Xisuma looked at his phone, humming tunelessly before answering. "Just around one in the morning. Still a while until closing time. If you want, I can come get you when the guests are leaving for the night?"

"Sure, I'd appreciate that. Thanks."

After the man left, Grian spent the remaining time until the club closed dozing in and out of sleep, waking up every now and then to talk to the different dancers who stopped by to take their own breaks or to pick up some snacks in between their shows.

When Xisuma showed up again, Grian felt much more awake than he had been before. He sprung up with a bounce before the taller man could even open his mouth. Xisuma smiled bemusedly at his antics before leading them to the front of the house. When Grian passed through the staff entrance, the lights were turned on like the first time he had seen the front of the house. Everything else about the scene before him was different.

The neon lights were still shining brightly, and the DJ booth was playing music - although at a lower volume than it had been when the club was open. Mumbo was at the bar, still making drinks but chatting much more animatedly than he had allowed himself to do when there were guests present. Grian smiled in amusement.

The biggest difference was exactly that - that there were people mingling all over, some at the bar getting drinks, others were dancing and messing around close to the DJ booth, and more people were simply relaxing around the tables while nursing their drinks.

He spotted Impulse almost immediately, the man waving at him from where he was seated at a table with Tango and... was that the strange blond from the hallway? Zedaph was his name, if he remembered correctly. Grian blinked, but made his way over to the trio nonetheless.

"Grian! The man of the night, how are you doing, buddy?" Tango greeted him with a wide smile as Grian pulled out a chair and dropped down on it.

"I feel amazing. Had a few powernaps in the back room, not gonna lie - but yeah. I feel great," Grian smiled as he answered. Then, he carefully looked at Zedaph. He hesitated before he spoke, "Hi, by the way."

Zedaph smiled lazily at him while lifting his drink in greeting. "Hello yourself. It's been a few days, hasn't it?"

Grian nodded slowly, not quite knowing where he had the other man.

"Wait, you two have met? Zed, why didn’t you tell me? Man, and I was hoping to be the one to officially introduce you," Impulse jokingly complained next to him. When Grian looked at him, the man was smiling and shaking his head.

Grian touched his neck, saying nervously, "Yeah, we've met. It was... sort of a strange day for me, so sorry if my first impression wasn't any good," he said, looking at Zedaph when he said the last part.

The man in question waved his apology off with a smile. "Nonsense! Strange days have a tendency to follow me around, so there's nothing to be sorry for. I had no previous experience with you to compare it to, so to me your first impression was the best impression you could have possibly given."

Grian blinked.

Zedaph continued without taking notice of Grian’s confusion. The next words were directed at Impulse. “Also, I didn’t tell you about us meeting because I love being difficult on purpose. You should know this about me by now.”

As Impulse started spluttering, Grian sat back in his chair, feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused. Tango leaned into Grian’s space before whispering conspiringly, "Yeah, Zed tends to have that effect on people." Directed at Zedaph, Tango exclaimed, "You _are_ difficult on purpose. That's why we love you, there’s never a dull moment."

"Aw, sweetcheeks, I love you too," Zedaph replied with a drawl, before he broke down into giggles. Grian found the sound very enjoyable to listen to, and he was happy that the awkwardness of their first meeting didn't linger. He still had a lot of questions, though. He decided to voice one.

"So, are you dating, then?"

Tango smiled at Grian before raising his hand, showing off the pair of gold rings on his ring finger. "Engaged, actually. All three of us are. We won't be able to legally marry, but the sentiment still stands."

Grian shot a look at Impulse's hands, but he didn't see any rings on them. He gave the man a questioning look. Impulse flushed a bit before he fished up a thin golden chain he had around his neck, showing off the two rings in the place of a pendant.

Zedaph's voice rang out, teasingly saying, "He's too cool to wear rings. Besides, Pulsie wants to keep us close to his heart."

Grian giggled when Impulse blushed beside him. "That's really sweet, actually. I'm probably way late, but congratulations on your engagement!"

The trio thanked him with wide smiles on their faces. The conversation went on a bit, then Grian excused himself to go pick up a drink at the bar. He talked with some more people along the way, some of them welcoming him to the club, and those who had gotten to see it also complimented him on his performance. It was nice.

Grian had refilled his drink after chatting with Mumbo for a bit when Impulse walked up to him.

"Hey Gri, do you have a minute to talk? I want some air."

He nodded, saying his goodbyes to Mumbo before following Impulse out of the room and through the hallway leading to the staff entrance.

They stepped outside, and Grian felt a small shiver run through him as a mild breeze contrasted coolly with the warm temperature he'd just stepped out of. It was dark out, and he could just barely see the blinking of stars through the shine from a streetlight. The alleyway they were standing in was quiet at the late hour.

Grian hugged himself with one arm to conserve his body heat while holding his drink in his other hand. "What's up, Impulse?"

The taller man was facing out towards the street, eyes gazing into the far distance as he answered with a gentle voice, "I did promise to tell you what Etho and I were talking about earlier. Do you still want to hear?"

Oh, he'd almost forgotten about that. Out loud he said, "Yeah. Do you still wanna tell me?"

"I do," Impulse said, still not looking at the smaller man. "But first I want you to know that I don't expect anything in return from this. I just feel like telling you, and I like being honest with the people in my life. If I make you uncomfortable, please let me know and I will try my best to avoid it happening again. Is that okay?"

Grian felt a bit confused, but the taller man's care for his wellbeing still made him feel warm. He smiled at him, even though Impulse still wasn’t facing him.

"Impulse, I don't even know what's going on yet… But I'll keep that in mind. What is it?"

Finally, the other man turned to look at him. Grian felt his breath catch in his chest when their eyes met, Impulse's expression was so... tender? The shaky half-smile, the warm, gentle gaze that was directed at him... it made his heart start pounding in his chest.

"I like you, Gri."

Grian flushed to the roots of his hair. He might have been gaping a bit, no sound leaving his open mouth.

Impulse continued. "I know we haven't known each other very long, but I really enjoy spending time with you. You’re hardworking, funny and very, very cute. Tango and Zedaph knows, by the way. They are okay with me asking you out, and they would both like to get to know you better as well. So… yeah."

"Wait, you think I’m cute? And you like me? You wanna try going out? With me? And like, being all poly and stuff?" Grian stammered out, not feeling like he was being very coherent. His face was still red, and his stomach was filled with nervous butterflies.

"Well, I'm already pretty poly. But, essentially, yes. If you want to give it a go, I would love to spend more time with you, go out on dates, all of that. Yes, I really, really like you," Impulse was red-faced as well, now. But he still smiled so prettily, looking at Grian with patience and hope in his eyes.

Grian felt his heart flutter, and a dopey smile spread on his face. He could only answer one thing.

"I'd like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Ready Now - Dodie


	11. A foreign sun (I thought I’d never see)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian has a breakfast date, discusses relationships and exchanges expectations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heho, this chapter is short and sweet. It's less plot driven, and it is honestly more of a set-up for the next arc. I still hope you all like it!

~ * ~

When he opened his eyes the next day, Grian was exhausted.

He woke up far too early for comfort, but he knew he had to pull himself away from the siren call of his bed and get ready for the day. He had work later, but before his shift started he was going to meet up with Impulse to talk.

After the man had confessed and asked Grian out, and he himself had accepted, the two had planned to meet up the next day to discuss things in more detail, without the buzz of alcohol in their veins and a party waiting for them in the next room.

Grian was nervous. This wasn't a date, he assured himself to try and calm his hammering heart - it was way too early in the morning for him to be working himself up already.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed in some comfortable jeans and a floral bomber jacket he'd found in his favourite thrift shop, he shoved some of his newly earned cash down his pocket and left the apartment with a bounce in his step.

A short bus ride later, and Grian was stood outside of the small diner Impulse had texted him the address of the night before. It looked modern and clean, and the smell of pancakes and bacon was wafting through the air and making his mouth water. His stomach was in the middle of rumbling when he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Hey, Gri!"

Grian smiled and turned towards the taller man. "Good morning, Impulse. Did you sleep well?"

"I did! Do you want to go inside? I'm starving," Impulse laughed out.

Grian felt the butterflies in his stomach make an encore performance as he got his first real look at the other man in the sharp sunlight of the early morning. Impulse's warm, brown eyes seemed almost honey-gold in the sun, and the brightness cast shadows that made the man's dimples stand out.

He was _gorgeous_.

"Grian?"

He blinked. Impulse's bright smile was now being accompanied by a concerned tilt to his eyebrows, and Grian realised with a start that, oh, right, he was probably supposed to answer the question.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just earlier than I'm used to being up. Let's go, my stomach is trying to eat itself, and I need some coffee."

Impulse laughed again, but waved him inside nonetheless.

When Grian pulled on the door handle, the delicious smell he'd noticed outside was even stronger, and he found himself immediately moving towards an empty booth by the sunny windows, not even looking to see if Impulse was following him. He _needed_ some of that food in him, pronto.

Luckily for him, the moment he dropped down on the seat with his back to the sunlight, Impulse sat down across from him, having evidently followed the smaller man as he'd made a beeline for the table.

Grian grabbed one of the menus that lay on the table between them, and as he was looking through the different items listed he said, "Oh man, everything looks so good. God, I'm hungry. And it smells so _nice_ ," he shot a glance up at Impulse, "You are a very smart man for suggesting this." Then, he busied himself with the menu once more.

"I thought you might like it. Do you see anything you'd like to order? My treat, anything you'd like."

Grian's eyes had been gazing over all the options, mind running to try and figure out what sounded the best, but his brain caught up with the last part of Impulse's words. "Hey, no, I'm treating _you_ today. You picked this place, and I got money shoved down my pants last night. You can pay for us next time; this one's on me."

Their eyes met over the table. Grian's gaze was steady, while Impulse was beginning to flush slightly as he nodded.

"Okay, yeah, that's-- yeah. Yeah."

Grian smiled and nodded with finality. "Good."

After placing their orders - pancakes and black coffee for Impulse, and eggs, hash browns, and an iced coffee for himself - the two sat in silence.

Impulse was looking at him, searching his face and seemingly looking for the right words to begin the conversation that was the very reason they were there - but Grian didn't have the same reservations. He had a swarm of butterflies in his stomach, sure. But Grian was nothing if not good at jumping straight into things with little to no reservations.

"So," Grian began. "We both want to try out dating. And being poly. And also you are engaged.”

Shame was another thing Grian had little to no sense of. Luckily for him, sometimes it worked in his favour.

Impulse gave a startled laugh, pausing only to accept his coffee from their waiter when he arrived with their drinks - the two of them giving their thanks with a smile - before he answered.

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell. And if we want it to work out without any miscommunications, we need to discuss what we might expect from our relationship, any other partners, things like that. Does that sound okay?"

Grian took a sip of his drink while listening, looking attentively at the other man before nodding as he finished speaking. "Yeah, that sounds good. I've never been in a poly relationship before, but I've always been attracted to the idea of it. What kind of rules have you three been talking about in regards to us?"

Impulse gave him a warm smile, eyes glinting in the sun over the rim of his cup of coffee while he gave a thoughtful hum.

"I wouldn't call them _rules_. But, we do have certain limits and preferences in order to feel comfortable with our relationships, and we all trust and care for each other enough to respect that."

Grian gave his own smile at that. "Gotcha."

Impulse blew on his drink, cooling it, before taking a sip. He continued, "Some of the things we have decided on for the three of us... well, first of all we want to meet any new potential partners of the other two. There doesn't _have_ to be any relationships between a new partner and the rest of us, but we aren't opposed to it, either."

Grian nodded, staying silent while stirring his coffee. He took another drink, the coldness was refreshing and helped clear his mind. He paid close attention to Impulse's words when the man kept speaking.

"No secrets between us when it comes to dating or intimate relations," and even though Impulse said the words with a serious expression, the man's cheeks still coloured with a blush. Grian smiled at the sight of it but chose not to comment.

"And in the case of you, specifically-- I can tell you that they both are interested in you, as well."

Now it was Grian's turn to blush. "I- as in, dating? I mean, I'm not totally opposed, but I'm gonna be honest - I don't know either of them nearly as well as I know you."

Impulse gave a startled laugh, and bumped his leg against Grian's beneath the table, holding it there. "No, I meant-- It's as you're saying, they don't know you that well. But they want to get to know you, like I said last night. As you say, you're not totally opposed. They're not, either. It doesn't have to be anything more than that - in fact, it doesn't _have_ to be anything at all! I'm just telling you so that you know it's an option."

Grian was still thinking through everything when their meals were placed down in front of them, steam curling up from the food and cutting through his musings. His stomach gave another growl, and he giggled as he gave it a small pat to console it before grabbing his knife and fork.

As he began cutting his eggs, he looked at Impulse, only to find the man was already gazing back at him with a gentle smile. Grian answered it with one of his own.

The two of them ate their meals and chatted about anything and everything - the food, their respective homes, where they had gone to school, and, of course, work. It was fun, nice and casual. Grian found that he was enjoying himself, time passing by until the food was gone and Grian had paid for the two of them like he'd said he would.

Grian suggested the two of them go for a walk before parting ways, and Impulse happily agreed.

"So, like," Grian began as they crossed the street a few blocks away from the diner. "If I wanted to date or sleep with other people - how would that work?"

Impulse gave a hum before wrapping his jacket closer around himself, shivering a bit in the clear September morning. "That is what we have to talk about. Is that something you'd want?"

Grian looked away and thought about it - and his mind immediately went to Doc. And, yeah, no, he still wasn't going there - but he couldn't deny that he wanted to. He guessed he'd found his answer.

"Yeah, I think so."

The smile was evident in Impulse's voice, even if Grian couldn't see it. "I'm glad you're telling me. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to know if, or when, you start dating someone. I don't need to hear about affairs, but you're free to tell me if you'd like. Now, I want to ask the same question to you? What are you okay with?"

Grian smiled and burrowed his face into his bomber jacket. His cheeks felt warm, and he was once more reminded of how _caring_ Impulse was with him. The butterflies were back, and before he could think more of it, Grian had reached out and snatched one of Impulse's hands in his own.

He ignored the choked sound Impulse made beside him, simply holding on while he answered. "It would be nice if you did the same for me. Except for Tango and Zedaph, are you currently seeing anyone else?"

Impulse was still stuttering beside him, but then his hand tightened around Grian's as he seemed to gather himself. His voice was still slightly breathless when he answered. "I- yeah, not, uh, nothing really serious, but me and Ren have been seeing each other for some time now."

Grian looked up at the taller man. "Ren? I don't think we've met."

Impulse looked back at him with surprise. "Really? He works at _The Hermit_ , so I'm surprised you haven't been introduced to him yet. He's the DJ."

"Oh!" Grian exclaimed. "Is that the same guy who kept playing terrible meme songs last night?"

Impulse gave a bark of laughter beside him. "That's the one!"

Grian started swinging their linked hands back and forth, grinning with excitement. "I _really_ wanna meet him, now. His taste in music is _impeccable_."

"I'll make sure to let him know. And I'll try to introduce the two of you soon, how's that sound?"

"That sounds perfect," Grian beamed up at him.

After walking around for a bit, Impulse accompanied him to the bus stop that would take Grian back to his apartment to get ready for work. The taller man would have to go and get ready soon as well, making Grian laugh as Impulse said; "Unless I want Tango and Zed to drive there without me, I’d better get moving, too."

When they stopped walking, the two of them delved into silence.

"So," Grian said.

"So?" The other man echoed with a small, teasing smile.

"I had a good time," Grian continued. "And I know this wasn't exactly a date, except for the part where it _was_ , and it was really nice and I liked it. So. Yeah."

Impulse gave an embarrassed laugh before hiding his red face behind one hand, saying, "Oh man, it totally was, wasn't it? I had a good time, too, Gri."

Grian swallowed down a sudden spike of nerves, deciding to go with what the butterflies were _screaming_ at him to do. He stretched up on his tippy toes, placed one hand on Impulse's shoulder for balance and pressed a soft kiss to the taller man's red cheek before leaning back down.

Impulse slowly pressed a hand to where Grian had pressed his lips, eyes finding Grian's and meeting them with shocked expression.

"I," Impulse swallowed.

"Was that okay?" Grian burst out, searching the taller man's eyes and hoping he hadn't overstepped any boundaries. Damn those butterflies, he never should have-

"Can I kiss you?"

His breath left his body with a small wheeze at the taller man's words. Impulse's eyes were _burning_ with a gentle, roaring fire as he stared intensely at Grian. The man's cheeks were still flushed, but he seemed more collected, nonetheless. When Grian managed to hold his gaze, shivers of anticipation began running down his back.

He whispered, "Yes."

Impulse leaned in, one hand still holding Grian's own as the other reached up to cup his cheek. Impulse let his thumb caress the skin over Grian's cheekbone, making him tremble beneath the gentle touch.

Then, he leaned in.

Soft, warm lips covered his own, just a steady, gentle pressure. Grian moaned weakly against them, and he felt Impulse's lips curl up into a smile. The movement dragged over Grian's mouth and made sparks dance under his skin, and he held onto Impulse's hand even tighter, letting his other hand move onto the taller man's shoulder once more.

The two of them stood together for a bit, sharing breaths and closeness, kiss remaining chaste before they parted as they heard Grian's bus approaching. Impulse was gazing into his eyes with a loving look, and Grian wondered what the other man could see in his own eyes.

Before letting go of Impulse's hand, he darted back up and pressed another quick kiss to the taller man's mouth, the two of them smiling into it as Grian gave a small giggle. Then, they said their see-you-later's as Grian stepped onto the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song rec: Gold Dust - Galantis


End file.
